


Waking Up in Vegas

by Holz9364



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Dragons, F/M, Past Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, Post-Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, everyone loves dragons in this fic beware, past Hermione Granger/Fred Weasley - Freeform, there are lots of dragon references
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-30
Updated: 2019-09-30
Packaged: 2020-11-08 06:42:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 34,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20831084
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Holz9364/pseuds/Holz9364
Summary: *EDITED AND MODIFIED A LITTLE, BUT ORIGINALLY UPLOADED ON FF.NET IN 2014*When Hermione Granger rejects Rons proposals and flees for a business trip to the United States, the last thing she expected was to bump into Charlie Weasley and have her life changed forever...





	1. It All Began with a Business Trip...

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I wrote a Charmione story based on a Katy Perry song. Sorry, not sorry but I heard the song years ago and it sparked the idea!
> 
> So I present to you, my take on Katy Perry's 'Waking Up in Vegas' AND, despite that sentence, it's not a crack fic!

“Remind me why you have to go to Las Vegas for a week?”

Hermione Granger rolled her eyes as she looked at Harry Potter across the table, “Because I have an important business trip, stop worrying about me.”

Harry raised an eyebrow at her, “You know what American wizards are like. They only want one thing.”

“And do you really think I will give it to them?” Hermione asked pointedly, “I’m a big girl Harry, I can handle myself out there.”

Harry smiled slightly, “You’ll be back on Saturday?”

Hermione nodded, “Will you be here when I get back?”

“Maybe,” Harry replied, he got up and walked around the table in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place, I have a meeting about my disciplinary hearing at some point on Saturday, but I don’t know when yet.”

“You really shouldn’t have punched Ron,” Hermione said with the hint of a smile.

“He deserved it,” Harry said, “I’m sticking by you on this one Hermione. A break up is no excuse to completely shove us both out of his life. I thought we meant more to him after all that we’ve been through.”

“Maybe he will cool down,” Hermione said optimistically.

Harry scoffed, “I doubt it. You are going to come back, aren’t you? You aren’t running away to restart your life?”

“Merlin, no,” Hermione said, a frown forming on her forehead, “I would never do that to you Harry. No matter how bad things got, I couldn’t leave without saying goodbye. Thank you so much for letting me stay here after Ron kicked me out.”

Harry shook his head, “You don’t have to thank me. You know you’ve always got a home here Hermione.”

Hermione smiled as she looked around the restored kitchen, “I kind of like it here,” she admitted, “Despite all of the bad memories that are attached to it…there are also a lot of good ones.”

Harry frowned around the kitchen, “Are there?”

“This is where we met Tonks,” Hermione said with a soft smile, “It’s where Remus and Tonks fell in love. It’s where you got to spend a Christmas with Sirius. It’s where Fred and George spent a summer showing off their apparition tricks.”

Harry hummed thoughtfully, “True,” he agreed, albeit a little reluctantly.

Hermione kissed him on the cheek, “I have to go or I’ll miss my appointment at the International Apparition Centre. I promise, I will be back in a few days.”

Harry hugged her tightly, “Have a safe trip.”

Hermione shot him a smile, grabbed her handbag and left the house. She apparated to the International Apparition Centre. It was illegal to apparate between countries without going through this sort of wizarding airport.

As she stood in the line, waiting for her turn, Hermione contemplated the events of the last few months. She and Ron had broken up after dating for around a year. They had skated around it for years after the war, they had both dated other people but they always ended up fighting about it so eventually they had gotten drunk, had sex and tried to make a relationship out of whatever they had.

It had gone okay, until Ron had proposed and Hermione had frozen up and said no. He had then kicked her out of the flat they shared, and she had moved in with Harry at Grimmauld Place. Harry had punched Ron in the face when he saw him at work, and as they were both Aurors that meant Harry was now getting a disciplinary hearing and could lose his job. It was stressful, and horrible, and Hermione felt like it was all her fault for breaking up the friendship between the three of them.

She neared the front of the line and turned her mind to her business trip. After the war Hermione had gone back to Hogwarts to finish her N.E.W.T”s and she had graduated in 1999. Straight out of school she had joined the Ministry, and now 5 years later, she was still working for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Normally her business trips didn’t extend any further than Europe, but this week she had a meeting in Las Vegas about an illegal dragon camp nearby.

“Name?”

“Hermione Granger,” Hermione said when she reached the wizard regulating the apparition out of London. 

“Destination?”

“Las Vegas, Nevada.”

“Purpose for journey?”

“To investigate an illegal dragon camp for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures.”

“Can I see your Ministry ID please?” the wizard asked.

Hermione showed him the card around her neck which he authorized and then said, “And can I just check your wand to make sure you are who you say you are?”

Nodding Hermione handed him her wand which he did a quick check on before handing back to her, “Have a good trip Miss. Granger.”

With a small smile Hermione nodded and stepped into the circle on the ground. Without wasting another moment she spun on the spot and arrived at the International Apparition Centre for Nevada. After a couple of questions she managed to apparate to an alley behind the building where the meeting was to be held.

She had half an hour to kill before the meeting so Hermione slipped into the bathroom and touched up her hair and straightened herself up. She was nervous, this was her first meeting out-with Europe so she had no idea who she would be dealing with. The laws were also slightly different and as much as she had prepared for this trip, she was still worried that she would slip up.

The building the meeting was to be held in was on the outskirts of Las Vegas and looked like a ruin to the untrained eye, but once you got close it was clear that this was due to anti-Muggle charms. It was the Nevada Ministry of Magic Office and inside it looked very similar to the British Ministry. Hermione was glad that she had arrived early because by the time she got through security and made her way to the room where she was to meet with the rest of the panel, it was almost time for the meeting to begin.

Taking a deep, slightly shaky breath, Hermione knocked on the door and an American man called, “Come in.”

Hermione did, smiling as she walked into the room, there weren’t too many people around the table which put her mind at ease.

“Ah, you must be Miss. Granger, from the British Ministry of Magic,” The same man who had told her to come in said. He was sitting at the head of the table and seemed to be in his mid-20”s.

Hermione nodded, “Yes, I apologise for my lateness.”

The American man smiled, “You are right on time Miss. Granger, take a seat.”

Hermione sat down in the seat he was pointing too and her eyes widened as she saw who she was sitting next to. With shaggy auburn hair, tattooed arms and a piercing in one ear, he was instantly recognizable.

“Charlie!”

Charlie Weasley smiled at her, “Nice to see you again Hermione. It’s been too long.”

“We wondered if you two might know each other,” The American man at the head of the table said, “Charlie is our dragon expert.”

“Of course,” Hermione said with a nod. She didn’t know if Charlie even knew about the break up with Ron yet, she hadn’t seen him for about 8 months which was not long after she and Ron had gotten together.

“My name is Joel Marshall,” The American man said, “I’m Head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures here in the American Ministry. These are my co-workers, Peter Davison, Head Auror and Kate Browning, my assistant.”

A young man and a young woman both smiled at Hermione, and she smiled back. That was it, three Americans, Charlie and herself.

“Have you been briefed on the situation Miss. Granger?” Marshall asked.

Hermione nodded, “My superiors have informed me that there is an illegal dragon camp somewhere on the outskirts of Las Vegas. I can only presume that the dragons are being used to obtain their blood and other valuables to sell on the black market.”

“Precisely,” Davison said, “Which is why I am here. Not only do we need to get those dragons out of there, we need to charge the culprits.”

“So what is my role here?” Hermione asked curiously.

“Two of the dragons have been stolen from Britain,” Browning said, “And Mr. Weasley, our dragon expert requested a British liaison be sent across so they can be returned to the forest they came from once they have been restored to full health.”

“The Welsh greens who went missing last year?” Hermione asked Charlie.

He nodded, “Those are the ones.”

“Harmless dragons, and so caring,” Hermione said with a frown, “I can’t fathom why someone would want to kidnap them but…oh, of course they are common in Britain, but over here their blood is rare and expensive.”

Charlie smiled slightly, “Yes, which is why they were taken from the Forest of Dean.”

Hermione’s eyes widened slightly, she hadn’t known that Welsh greens lived in the Forest of Dean, and she also hadn’t realised that Charlie knew about her connection to the forest. All the same she tried to ignore this and said, “So do you wish me to be present for the extraction?”

“You don’t need to be,” Davison said, “I have a team of Aurors who will be going in to arrest those responsible. After that Mr. Weasley and a team he has put together will go in and care for the dragons, he will determine when they will be well enough to move to a safe camp.”

“So you need me for the political aftermath,” Hermione realised, “Dealing with the cover up, and making sure the paperwork is in order for the two Welsh greens to get back to Britain.”

Marshall smiled, “You catch on quick. I can see why your Ministry sent you across. That’s exactly what we would like you to do.”

Hermione smiled, “Great, I only have one request.”

“You will want an office to work in for your stay here,” Marshall said with a nod, “We have set one up on the same floor as the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures offices.”

Hermione’s surprise must have shown on her face as Marshall said, “Mr. Weasley said you would probably want an office, and that you probably would not want to be present for the extraction.”

“Oh,” Hermione said, “Yes, well seeing animals in distress is not exactly pleasant.”

“Exactly, which is why I suggested you for the political side of things,” Charlie said with a smile, “You were always covering things up for Harry at school, and holding press conferences for him after the war.”

Hermione smiled weakly, “Someone has to organise him.”

Marshall chuckled, “And we are honoured to have the political mastermind behind the great Harry Potter working with us. I would offer you a job, but Mr. Weasley has already told me that you are rather attached to England.”

“As lovely an offer as that is,” Hermione said, “I am indeed rather attached to England. I don’t think I could ever leave permanently.”

“Would you perhaps consider being our official liaison?” Marshall asked, “For other situations involving both of our governments?”

Hermione’s eyes widened, “Wow, I-”

“It’s a big pay raise,” Browning said.

Hermione smiled, “Thank you, but I don’t do this job for the money. Can I consider your offer and let you know my decision before I leave on Saturday?”

“Of course,” Marshall said, “Take as much time as you need Miss. Granger.”

“So,” Charlie said as he leant forward, “Should we give Hermione the full brief?”

Marshall nodded and slid a file over to Hermione, “You have a lot of reading to do,” he said with a smile.

***

The meeting was adjourned and before Hermione got a chance to speak to Charlie she was being led to her temporary office by Kate Browning. She was still confused as to why Charlie had recommended her, and shocked by the job offer. An international liaison job was not just a little bit of a promotion, it was a huge step up, in terms of pay and responsibility.

“How do you and Charlie know each other?” Browning asked.

“Oh, I’ve known his family since I was 11,” Hermione said, “His brother was in my year at school, and my best friend dated his sister for a while.”

Browning smiled, “He recommended you personally.”

“I have no idea why,” Hermione said honestly, “There are far more experienced people in my department.”

“He seemed to think you would deal with the situation best,” Browning said, “He’s not a particularly emotional guy though, so who knows whats going on in his head.”

“How long have you worked with him for?” Hermione asked curiously.

“Two or three years, he’s only a consultant,” Browning said, “So we see him every so often when a dragon situation arises.”

“So he still works mainly in Romania?” Hermione asked.

Browning nodded, “Mostly, yeah. Has he ever had a girlfriend?”

Hermione frowned, “Uh, he had a few while he was at Hogwarts, I think. Why?”

Browning blushed slightly, “Oh it’s nothing…I just rather like him, but I’ve always thought he was…you know…?”

Hermione laughed, “I doubt it, I think he’s just more interested in dragons than women.”

“Unless the right woman comes along,” Charlie’s deep voice said from behind them.

Browning jumped and her blush deepened, “Oh, hello Mr. Weasley,” she said as she turned to the smirking man behind them, “Miss. Granger, your office is the third along this corridor,” she said quickly before walking swiftly away.

“Do you get kicks out of making people embarrassed?” Hermione asked as she walked towards her temporary office with Charlie following her.

“It is rather amusing,” Charlie said simply, following Hermione into the little office. It was nice, even if the view out of the window was rather barren.

Hermione shook her head in amusement, “So it’s your fault I ended up over here.”

“My fault?” Charlie said, sitting down in a seat opposite her desk, “I wouldn’t say it’s a bad thing. You just got offered one hell of a promotion.”

“Yeah, one that involves a lot of work in America. Have you ever thought of the possibility that I don’t like it over here?” Hermione asked.

“How can you not like it? This is Las Vegas, and you know what they say about Las Vegas,” Charlie said with a grin.

“The fact you’re even entertaining the possibility that I’m going to go out and party, or whatever, in Las Vegas is insane,” Hermione said matter-of-factly, “So why did you recommend me?”

“Because you’re the best in your field,” Charlie said, “I might live in Romania but I also read the prophet. As soon as you turn 25 you will be promoted to Head of department.”

“Possibly,” Hermione said evasively.

“Oh don’t be modest Hermione, you’ve practically been promised it,” Charlie said, “You’re the best, and I wanted the best to ensure those dragons get back safely.”

“Back to the Forest of Dean?” Hermione said, eyeing Charlie suspiciously.

Charlie nodded, a glint in his eye, “Not that you’ve ever been there, right? You went there with Ron and Harry but then Ron ran back home with his tail between his legs. Must have just been you and Harry out there for a while, all alone, in the middle of the forest.”

“Oh you’re very funny Charlie,” Hermione said sarcastically, “Not that it is any of your business, but I did not spend the war sleeping with Harry contrary to what Ron thinks. How do you know so much about me anyway? I see you every other Christmas, I think I can count on one hand the amount of conversations we’ve had.”

Charlie smiled innocently, “I knew you would want an office because you are a control freak, you have been since you were a kid. As for the extraction, well that was a guess on my part, but I remember how upset you got about those house elves, and that hippogriff…”

“Charlie, you barely knew me back then,” Hermione said in disbelief, “You were always in Romania.”

“But I paid attention when I was in Britain,” Charlie said, “And my lovestruck little brother did write to me you know.”

Hermione swallowed at the mention of Ron and watched as Charlie’s eyes went to her finger, “You’re not wearing an engagement ring.”

“What an excellent observation,” Hermione said dryly.

“The last time Ron wrote to me, he told me he was proposing to you,” Charlie said.

“He did,” Hermione said.

“And you said no?”

“If I had said yes I would be wearing a ring,” Hermione said simply.

Charlie leant back in his chair, “Good,” he said.

“What?” Hermione asked sharply.

“You didn’t love him, you were only with him because you thought that’s what people expected, and wanted,” Charlie said, “I told you, I pay attention.”

Hermione frowned and looked down, “I was trying to make things work, but when he proposed I realised I couldn’t marry him.”

Charlie nodded, “You did the right thing. There isn’t any point trying to make something work if it just isn’t right.”

“Not that you’re qualified to give relationship advice,” Hermione said, “They made it illegal to have marital relations with animals back in the 18th century.”

Charlie raised an eyebrow, “I’m getting the impression that you don’t like me as much as you like my brothers Hermione.”

“Well I definitely like you more than Ron right now because that arsehole kicked me out,” Hermione muttered irritably, “But as for the rest of your family; I went to school with Fred, George, Percy, and Ginny. I then went to Bills wedding and stayed with him and his wife during the war. I first met you the summer before my 4th year when you spent more time catching up with your siblings and obsessing over Harry than talking to me until you realised I knew a lot about dragons.”

“Okay I will admit, that was poor judgment,” Charlie said, “But if I had known you knew so much about dragons at the _start _of that summer I would have spent much more time with you.”

“That makes me feel _so _much better,” Hermione said, vaguely amused.

“Well you saw me at the first task in the tournament,” Charlie said, “It’s not my fault you were too busy crying about Harry to talk to me.”

“I was _not _crying!” Hermione objected.

“Really? You had nail marks on your face,” Charlie said with a grin as he leant back further in the chair.

Hermione’s cheeks flushed, “Anyway that was only for 30 seconds, and after that I didn’t see you until Bill and Fleurs wedding when you were too busy freaking out and trying not to throw up about your best man speech.”

Charlie’s eyes widened, “How did you…”

“I pay attention,” Hermione said, smirking as she turned the tables on him.

Charlie smiled slightly, “I saw you briefly after the final battle. At the funeral-”

“Yeah, I know,” Hermione said quickly, “But that wasn’t…”

“I know,” Charlie said, “Stupid of me to bring it up really.”

Hermione shook her head, “It’s okay. But you get my point, right? I don’t know you as well as I know the others.”

“Then come out for a drink with me,” Charlie suggested, “Let me show you Las Vegas.”

Hermione looked at Charlie in disbelief, “No, I don’t drink.”

“Now, I know that’s not true,” Charlie said mischievously, “Harry told me about that time-”

“Okay, fair enough,” Hermione said quickly, “When did you see Harry?”

“Last week, he arrested one of my co-workers. It was really annoying that he was involved in the black market, it’s going to take me weeks to replace him,” Charlie said.

“Oh isn’t the law so restrictive?” Hermione asked in a mixture of amusement and sarcasm.

Charlie grinned, “This is why I like you Hermione.”

“Because of my ever present sarcasm?” She asked.

“That, and the fact you’re never afraid to speak your mind,” Charlie said, “Even to somebody you apparently don’t know. You’re very comfortable around me, are you always this comfortable around strangers?”

“Shut up Charlie,” Hermione said in amusement, “You’re hardly a stranger. I was just pointing out that I have not spent the same amount of time with you as I have with your brothers.”

Charlie raised an eyebrow, “Well, you have spent more time with some of my brothers than others.”

“That’s enough of that,” Hermione said, a tone of authority in her voice.

“Are you sure I can’t convince you to come out with me?” Charlie asked as he got to his feet, “Las Vegas has some pretty well-hidden gems you know.”

“I don’t doubt that it does, but it’s not my scene,” Hermione said diplomatically, “But thank you anyway, for the offer.”

“I’ll just keep asking you until you get so annoyed that you say yes,” Charlie said with a grin as he opened the office door, “I’ve got some dragons to save, and you’ve got a file to read. See you around Hermione.”

“See you around,” Hermione said as the door swung shut behind Charlie, leaving her alone in her temporary office.


	2. Sin City

As it was, Charlie didn’t bother Hermione again until Friday afternoon, the day before she was due to head back to England. He had left for the extraction on Thursday morning with the rest of the team and Hermione had used the time to get the paperwork in order for the return of the Welsh greens. She had also finished working on the press release detailing the events the way the American Ministry wanted them to be described.

When the door to her office opened sometime after 5pm she was finished and bored so she was reading one of her favourite Muggle books.

“The extraction went well,” Charlie said, sitting down opposite her.

“Don’t you knock?”

“Oh I forgot,” Charlie said, “I’m a stranger to you aren’t I?”

Hermione smiled slightly, “You were gone a while.”

Charlie shrugged, “Two days is the standard for an extraction of that size. All of the dragons are alive and well, the Welsh greens are a bit woozy but they should be safe to transport back to England within a couple of weeks. Until then they have been placed in an authorised camp with the others we rescued.”

Hermione nodded, “Good. I guess my work here is done then. I have already given the paperwork and the press release to Marshall.”

“You’ll be heading back tomorrow?” Charlie asked.

Hermione only nodded in return. Charlie then moved awkwardly, causing Hermione to frown, “Why are you dragging your arm like that?”

Charlie glanced at his right arm, “Oh it’s just a slight burn,” he said casually.

“Did you get it treated?” Hermione asked.

Charlie snorted, “It’s nothing Hermione,” he assured her.

Hermione rolled her eyes and walked around the desk, “Take your top off Charlie.”

Charlie raised an eyebrow at her, “You’re a bit forward, aren’t you?”

Hermione fixed him with a glare that could rival his Mothers, “Seriously Charlie, let me take a look at it.”

Charlie sighed and pulled off his black t-shirt, wincing slightly as the material moved over the burned area of his skin. Hermione tried to contain her blush as she saw the extent of his muscles due to his work with dragons. His entire torso was rippled with muscles, and his arms were huge and tattooed.

“I didn’t know you had so many tattoos,” Hermione remarked.

Charlie smirked and said, “You should see the one on my back.”

Hermione frowned as Charlie turned around and then her mouth dropped open in surprise. Covering his whole back was a huge tattoo of a Hungarian horntail, like those on his arms it was a magical tattoo so the dragon moved its head back and forth.

“I can see why you’re still single,” Hermione remarked, “That would be incredibly distracting in the bedroom.”

Charlie barked out a laugh, “I hadn’t entertained that possibility,” he admitted, “I was going under the assumption that I just hadn’t met the right girl yet.”

Hermione moved back around to the front of Charlie and said, “Isn’t it weird that your younger siblings are settling down before you?”

Charlie shrugged as Hermione inspected the burn on his arm, “Not really, it’s weirder to think that someone actually had sex with Percy, let alone married him.”

Hermione couldn’t help the laugh that escaped her at this comment, “Oh behave, Audrey is sweet and Percy is a lot better since…” she trailed off, but she didn’t need to finish her sentence, Charlie understood.

“This is pretty bad Charlie,” Hermione said, turning her attention to the burn.

“It’s nothing, just a Welsh green,” Charlie said, “I’ve had much worse from Horntails and Norwegian Ridgebacks.”

“You should still have had it treated,” Hermione said, picking her wand up from the table and murmuring a cooling charm. A slither of silver came out of her wand and encased Charlie’s arm like a magical bandage. Despite his claims that he was fine, he still breathed a sigh of relief as the charm began to work.

“Leave that on for a couple of hours, it should help,” Hermione said, leaning against her desk.

“I didn’t know you knew so much about healing,” Charlie admitted.

“Well, you don’t know everything about me,” Hermione said with a slight smile.

“I guess not,” Charlie said, “Thanks, for the cooling charm.”

“No problem,” Hermione said, “I wanted to be a Healer before I got a job in the department.”

“What made you change your mind?” Charlie asked curiously.

Hermione frowned slightly as she said, “I’m not entirely sure. I knew I wanted to do something to help…but I think after all the pain and death I saw in the war I couldn’t be surrounded by it every day of my life.”

“So you opted for helping creatures,” Charlie said with a smile.

Hermione nodded, and Charlie said, “Funny, that’s how I ended up choosing to be a dragonologist over a healer.”

“You wanted to be a healer?” Hermione asked in surprise.

Charlie nodded, “Oh yeah, I had the grades for it and it would have brought in three times the amount of money this job does. I think Mum and Dad were disappointed that I turned it down, but it wasn’t what I wanted to do.”

Hermione smiled, “Yeah…I understand that.”

“So,” Charlie said as he put his t-shirt back on, “Can I tempt you by that drink?”

“I grew up in the Muggle world Charlie,” Hermione said with some amusement, “I know what Las Vegas is like.”

“You’ve never seen the wizarding sector though,” Charlie said, “Come on Hermione, you know me. I’d never take you somewhere that you would feel uncomfortable.”

Hermione sighed, “I just don’t particularly like the idea of going out in a notorious place like Las Vegas and drinking.”

“Then let me buy you dinner,” Charlie said with a smile.

“That sounds suspiciously like a date Charlie,” Hermione said with narrowed eyes.

“It’s two friends catching up over a meal,” Charlie argued.

“I’ve just broken up with your little brother, you do realise that don’t you?” Hermione asked.

“Yes, but I’m nothing like Ron. I’m far more like Fred,” Charlie said.

Hermione’s eyes were immediately cast downward to the table, “I know,” she said quietly.

“I shouldn’t have brought him up,” Charlie said, “I’m sorry.”

“He’s your brother, I don’t expect you to not talk about him when I’m around,” Hermione said, still not looking up, “I’ve always known how alike you and Fred are.”

Charlie’s eyes widened slightly, “Hermione…is that why you have been avoiding working with me for the past year?”

Hermione looked up and caught Charlie’s eye, he saw the guilt there immediately. She sighed and nodded, “It was painful Charlie, to be around you.”

“I understand,” Charlie said honestly, “But it’s been two years Hermione. You can’t run away from everyone who reminds you of him.”

“I know,” Hermione said with a sigh.

“Come out for dinner with me, let me buy you a drink. Try and let go and relax a little,” Charlie said gently.

Hermione frowned and kept her eyes on the desk. Going out with Charlie was probably a bad idea, but she still wanted to, and for once she went with her heart not her head, “Okay,” she said as she grabbed her handbag.

Charlie’s eyes lit up, “Really?”

Hermione nodded, a true smile coming to her face, “You’re right. I need to have a little more fun so you win Charlie. Show me the wizarding side of Las Vegas.”

Charlie grinned and got to his feet, “You have so much to learn Hermione.”

“I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing,” Hermione said as she and Charlie left the office together.

***

Over a surprisingly good dinner at a nice little wizarding restaurant looking out over the lights of Vegas, Hermione loosened up slightly. She and Charlie had a lot to talk about, because they had a lot in common, not least their shared interest in magical creatures.

“Is this a date?” Hermione asked over a glass of wine as they sat in the fancy restaurant.

“Do you want it to be?” Charlie asked.

Hermione shrugged, “I don’t know, it just feels like a date. You’re wearing dress robes, I’m wearing a nice dress…we’re drinking wine.”

Charlie smiled slightly, “If it is a date it’s the best I’ve ever been on. Most women get bored when I start talking about dragons.”

“Well I’m not most women,” Hermione said.

“You say that like it’s a bad thing,” Charlie said cheekily.

The corners of Hermione’s lips quirked up slightly, “Most men don’t like to hear about magical creatures or equality for house elves.”

“Oh, speaking of that,” Charlie said, leaning forward slightly, “I saw your piece in the annual paper that the Society for the Protection of Magical Creatures brought out at Christmas time.”

“You did?” Hermione asked, “I didn’t think anyone read that.”

Charlie shrugged, “I subscribe to it.”

“Me too,” Hermione admitted with a sheepish smile.

“I agree with everything you said, about house elves not knowing that they are slaves because it’s all that they have ever known,” Charlie said, “Just because they don’t know they are slaves doesn’t make it okay for them to be treated the way they are.”

Hermione’s eyes lit up as she nodded, “It’s like saying it’s okay to keep a dragon underground to guard a bank because it was born in captivity but that doesn’t make it right!”

“Oh Merlin, don’t get me started on that,” Charlie said, “I hate the way they treat guard dragons. They blind them to make sure they can’t escape, and if they do they often die because they’ve never been exposed to sunlight or the world above ground. The rare few that do escape catch horrible diseases.”

“It’s disgusting,” Hermione said, “With all of the charms and wards wizards have at their disposal these days they don’t need to use these horrible old fashioned methods to guard banks.”

Charlie smiled, “I’m glad you decided not to marry Ron, Hermione. You would have been entirely wasted on him.”

Hermione blushed slightly, “I know he’s not particularly intelligent, but that’s rather harsh.”

Charlie shrugged, “You’d get bored very quickly. Somebody like you needs someone they can compete with intellectually, you would never be able to have a conversation like this with Ron.”

Hermione chuckled, “The conversation would end with him saying house elves liked being slaves.”

“See, that illustrates my point perfectly,” Charlie said with a slight smile.

“You and Ron aren’t very close. Are you?”

Charlie shook his head, “It’s the age gap I guess. I was pretty close to Bill growing up, Ron was always closer to Fred and George.”

“What about Percy and Ginny?” Hermione asked.

“Percy was always in his own world,” Charlie said in amusement, “And everyone loved Ginny, we all still do.”

“She can get anything she wants out of her older brothers,” Hermione said, chuckling.

“We spoil her,” Charlie agreed.

Hermione smiled slightly as she sipped her wine, “Have you ever considered coming back to England, Charlie?”

“Why? Do you want me to?” Charlie asked, studying Hermione’s eyes.

Hermione’s cheeks flushed with colour, “I just wondered.”

“I have a back-up plan. I can’t be a dragonologist forever,” Charlie said, “I turn 32 this year, I’ve got till I’m 40 I reckon…”

“And your back-up plan is to come to England?” Hermione asked.

Charlie nodded, “Neville’s got the Care of Magical Creatures job on hold for me,” he admitted.

“Oh,” Hermione said with a smile, “Yeah, I can see you doing that.”

“And he won’t stop offering you the Transfiguration job until you take it,” Charlie said, seeing right through Hermione.

She smiled, “I’m happy with the Ministry for the moment. I can’t believe you turn 32 this year, you don’t look your age.”

Charlie grinned at this compliment, “You’ve always seemed older than your years Hermione, but I _am _8 years older than you.”

“That’s only one year more than the age gap between Bill and Fleur,” Hermione said.

Charlie hummed thoughtfully, “It doesn’t seem as big a gap now as it did when we were younger.”

“I didn’t even realise you had thought about it,” Hermione said honestly.

Charlie shrugged, “It crossed my mind,” he admitted as he looked down at their empty plates.

“Dinner is over,” Hermione pointed out.

“It seems a shame, doesn’t it?” Charlie asked, “Ending the night so soon?”

“Yeah,” Hermione said, “Do you…still want to offer me that drink?”

Charlie grinned and said, “I know a really nice wizarding bar with some amazing views.”

Hermione smiled and said, “Come on then. What are we waiting for?”

***

Walking through Las Vegas at night with the lights surrounding her, being arm-in-arm with Charlie Weasley didn’t feel as wrong as it should have done. Hermione couldn’t remember the last time she’d had so much fun in fact.

“It’s in here,” Charlie said, his arm slipping out of Hermione’s as he gripped her hand. She didn’t pull it back as he led her into a fairly ordinary looking building.

“I should have warned you,” Charlie said, “There are a lot of stairs.”

The stairs were wooden and lit with burning lanterns. It took about 5 minutes to climb them, but it was worth it because at the top was the wizarding bar that Charlie had mentioned. It did indeed have amazing views out over the lights of Las Vegas. It felt very much like the Three Broomsticks inside and as Hermione sat down in a booth she felt very comfortable.

“Firewhiskey?” Charlie asked, and when Hermione nodded he went to the bar and fetched them two firewhiskeys.

“This is amazing,” Hermione admitted as she looked out of the windows over the city.

“I told you Las Vegas was kind of beautiful,” Charlie said.

“I’m sorry Charlie,” Hermione said out of the blue as she drank from the glass of firewhiskey.

“What for?” Charlie asked.

Hermione sighed, her eyes once more fixed on the table, “For distancing myself from you. I should have realised that we have a lot in common…I haven’t had this much fun for a long time.”

“You punish yourself too much,” Charlie said, “You are allowed to have fun Hermione. I know you didn’t feel like you could after Fred died, but trust me, he wouldn’t want you to be miserable forever.”

“I know he wouldn’t,” Hermione said honestly, “But it feels wrong. being out with you…it feels like a betrayal to Fred.”

“Because you like me?” Charlie asked gently, “It was easier to be around Ron wasn’t it? Because he was nothing like Fred.”

Hermione nodded, “I didn’t know what to do after Fred died…so I took that year to do my N.E.W.T’s and get my head together again. Then I was pretty happy being on my own, or I thought I was at least until Ron convinced me to try and make things work with him.”

“Does he know?” Charlie asked.

Hermione shook her head and looked out of the window distantly, “No. Not many people do…just Harry, George and you.”

“And I wasn’t meant to know,” Charlie said with a sheepish smile.

“You were eavesdropping,” Hermione said, smiling slightly, “At Bill’s wedding.”

“I didn’t do it on purpose,” Charlie promised.

“I know,” Hermione frowned, “And I know that the next question is going to be, why did we keep it a secret?”

Charlie nodded, “The only thing I could come up with was that it was because of Ron?”

Hermione nodded again, “We didn’t know how he would react, but we didn’t think that it would be good. And with the war looming, we knew that we were better united than divided. Fred…” she frowned, “Fred thought Ron might betray information to the Death Eaters in his rage, I never thought so lowly of him but Fred didn’t have the highest opinion of him.”

Charlie’s silence told Hermione what he thought.

“Either way,” Hermione continued quietly, “It was over before it really began but I think he might be the only person I’ve ever loved as something more than a friend.”

Charlie reached across the table and took her hand, “None of us expected what happened in the final battle Hermione. We all knew it was dangerous but we didn’t expect to be affected directly. What are you so afraid of?”

“That I’ll never love anyone the same way I loved him,” Hermione answered quietly.

“You won’t,” Charlie agreed. Hermione’s eyes snapped up to meet his, “You will love again, but you will never love anyone the way you loved Fred because love is more than just a feeling. It’s unique, it’s a unique connection. I’ll never love anyone the way that I loved my first love, Dora, but that doesn’t mean I can’t love again. It doesn’t mean I can’t find a better kind of love.”

“You’re just like him,” Hermione said sadly as she looked down at the table, “Making jokes one minute then coming out with pearls of wisdom like that the next.”

Charlie smiled, “You forget that Fred was my little brother, why do you think we’re so alike?”

Hermione smiled slightly, “Because he aspired to be like his big brother?”

“Well, who wouldn’t want to be like me?” Charlie asked with a grin, trying to cheer Hermione up.

She laughed weakly, “He didn’t get your love of magical creatures.”

“Well, I’m unique in that way,” Charlie said as he finished his firewhiskey.

“Yes,” Hermione agreed, “You are.”

“Does this mean you’re going to stop avoiding me now?” Charlie asked, his eyes sparkled with amusement.

“I will not actively avoid you, but you might not see me much anymore anyway,” Hermione said with a sigh, “I won’t be at the Burrow as much now. Ron did kick me out after all…”

“Don’t be silly,” Charlie said nonchalantly, “I floo-ed Mum about that the other day and she told me to tell you to stop avoiding going by the house. I think her exact words were that no matter what had happened between you and Ron, you were still family.”

Hermione smiled, “Well, I suppose she accepted Harry even after he and Ginny broke up.”

“You’re family Hermione, whether you become a Weasley in name or not you will always be one in spirit,” Charlie said.

“If you are so adamant that I am part of your family, I think it’s quite wrong that you asked me out on a date,” Hermione quipped.

Charlie laughed, “It’s good to see the sarcasm is back, I was worried about you for a minute there.”

“Charlie, I hope you realise that I’m really messed up,” Hermione said as she looked up at him with a frown, “If this is a date, then I feel you should know that.”

“You’re not messed up Hermione,” Charlie said as he stood up and held out his hand to her, “You’ve just been through a lot. Stop worrying about everything and dance with me.”

Once again Hermione took his advice and took his hand, letting him pull her onto the dance-floor.

***

Hermione’s first thought upon waking up was that her head hurt. She opened her eyes and blinked a few times to stop her vision from being so blurry. When the world stopped spinning she realised she was in a hotel room and the sunlight was breaking through the gaps in the curtains. She groaned as she sat up and the world spun once more, swallowing and trying to force down the queasiness she felt she reached to her right blindly for her wand but felt something else instead…a hand…that wasn’t hers.

When Hermione turned and saw Charlie lying next to her, completely naked, she squealed in surprise and fell off the bed, dragging the covers with her and wrapping them around herself.

Charlie opened a weary eye and grinned, “You look flustered Hermione.”

“Charlie!” Hermione gasped, “How did we…what did we….” She trailed off.

“I think you might need this,” Charlie said, reaching down to the floor and pulling a vial of potion from his trouser pocket. He didn’t seem at all phased about the fact he was totally stark naked.

“What is it?” Hermione asked cautiously.

“It will get rid of your hangover, and help you remember last night,” Charlie said with a yawn, “After all, it was too good to forget.”

Hermione’s cheeks turned bright red as she downed the potion in one and sighed in relief as the pain in her head ebbed away and the world stopped spinning. Then she gasped in horror as some of the events of the previous night came back to her, she remembered dancing with Charlie in the bar, and then somehow ending up in this hotel with him and then…well then it got graphic.

“Wow,” she muttered.

“Glad you enjoyed it too,” Charlie said rather smugly.

Hermione couldn’t help but smile slightly then she frowned, “Oh Merlin, it’s Saturday! I need to get back to England! What time is it Charlie?”

“It’s only 10am Hermione,” Charlie said as he grabbed his clothes and began to dress, “You have plenty of time.”

Hermione picked up her dress from the night before and transfigured it into jeans and a top which she slipped on quickly while keeping herself covered up.

“I don’t know why you’re covering up,” Charlie said as he stood up and stretched, only wearing his trousers, “I saw it all last night.”

“I can’t believe we did this Charlie!” Hermione said, now in full on panic mode, “I just broke up with Ron!”

Charlie rolled his eyes, “Come on, let’s get some breakfast.”

“Charlie!” Hermione exclaimed, “Why are you so calm about this?”

“Because sleeping with someone you’re attracted to is perfectly natural,” Charlie said simply, “You really do need to loosen up more Hermione.”

“You’re attracted to me?” Hermione asked.

Charlie grinned, “For someone so smart Hermione, you really are oblivious.”

Hermione blushed deeply and threw Charlie’s t-shirt at him, “Put that on…you’re distracting me.”

Charlie laughed whole-heartedly at this and said, “Come on, breakfast calls.”

“Fine,” Hermione said as she grabbed her bag and fixed her hair, “But you can’t tell anyone about this Charlie.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll keep you as my dirty little secret,” Charlie said mischievously as he opened the door and said, “After you.”

“You’re disgusting,” Hermione said.

“You slept with me,” Charlie countered.

“I was drunk,” Hermione said.

“And I was desirable, I get it,” Charlie said.

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re horribly smug?” Hermione asked.

“Several times,” Charlie replied, “Although the last woman said she had met worse.”

Hermione snorted, “I can’t imagine anyone smugger, except maybe Draco Malfoy.”

Charlie grinned, “Funny, that’s exactly what Daphne said.”

“Daphne Greengrass?” Hermione asked in disbelief, “She was your last girlfriend?”

“She wasn’t really my girlfriend, but that was my last romantic endeavor, yes,” Charlie said as he and Hermione walked out of the hotel into the warm morning air of Las Vegas.

Hermione shook her head in disbelief, “I can’t believe I let you take me out last night. I should have known it would have ended like this.”

“Hermione, you need to learn not to have regrets,” Charlie said as he gripped her hand and pulled her into a Muggle café, “Just enjoy life as it comes. You only get to live it once.”

“I never said I regretted it,” Hermione admitted as she sat down in a booth with Charlie, “The timing just wasn’t great.”

Charlie grinned, “I knew you had a thing for me.”

“Since when?” Hermione asked in disbelief.

“You had a crush on me that summer I was home,” Charlie said.

“Well, yes,” Hermione said sheepishly, “But I was 13 years old!”

“You were nearly 14,” Charlie countered.

Hermione raised an eyebrow, “Please tell me you didn’t like me then. You were 21, and I was 13.”

“I thought you were sweet, but no I didn’t like you romantically then,” Charlie said, “You can stop panicking.”

“So when did you notice me?” Hermione asked curiously.

“Bill and Fleur’s wedding,” Charlie said, “Since you caught me freaking out over my speech and pretended you hadn’t then helped me sort it out before the wedding.”

Hermione smiled at the memory, “I remember.”

“But you were with Fred then,” Charlie said, “Not that I realised until later that night.”

Hermione nodded, her eyes downcast.

“I talked to him about you Hermione,” Charlie said, “After you, Harry and Ron left.”

“You did?” Hermione asked, looking up and catching Charlie’s eye.

Charlie nodded, “I asked him about you two, and he said he had no idea how it had happened but that he was glad it had.”

Hermione got a little teary, “I don’t really know how it happened either, and it’s not like it lasted for a long time…only a few weeks before we had to leave.”

“Weeks can feel like years looking back,” Charlie said, “And Fred said to me when I spoke to him that day…he said after what had happened to George he didn’t feel invincible anymore and he said if anything happened to him he hoped one of us Weasley boys would look out for you.”

“He said that?” Hermione asked.

Charlie nodded, “I wouldn’t make that up.”

“You really think he would be okay about…us?”

“Is there an us?” Charlie asked, a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

“I want there to be,” Hermione admitted.

“Then I think there can be an us, and I know Fred would be happier about you being with me than Ron,” Charlie said honestly.

Hermione smiled slightly, “Without being nasty to Ron, I think you are probably right.”

Before either of them could say anymore a waitress asked for their order and Charlie ordered them breakfast and coffee. The air was surprisingly casual and calm considering what had happened the night before.

“I’ve never had a one night stand before,” Hermione admitted after their bacon rolls were served up.

“I hope it becomes more than a one night stand,” Charlie said, “You’re too good for me to let you slip away Hermione.”

Hermione smiled at this comment, and Charlie added, “If I do you might end up with the wrong Weasley again.”

“And I suppose you think you’re the right Weasley,” Hermione said in amusement.

Charlie smiled, “I hope I am.”


	3. That's What You Get for Waking up in Vegas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yep title is from the song that inspired the fic:  
"Waking Up in Vegas" by Katy Perry

“I have to go Charlie.”

After breakfast she and Charlie had wandered through Las Vegas hand in hand for an hour or so passing the time by talking about everything and anything.

“I’ll come with you,” Charlie said, “If you don’t mind that is? I was going to head home tomorrow anyway for the monthly Sunday dinner.”

“Right,” Hermione said, “I was invited as well. I wasn’t sure if I should go or not…”

“Mum told me when I floo-ed her the other day that you should come,” Charlie said, “And if it makes you feel any better, Ron won’t be there, he’s working.”

“That does increase the likelihood that I’ll go,” Hermione admitted sheepishly as they walked into a deserted alley.

“I hope you do,” Charlie said with a smile, “I’ll meet you at the apparition centre?”

Hermione nodded and then spun on her heel. Disappearing with a crack and re-appearing in the dull, white building that was the Las Vegas apparition centre. Charlie appeared a moment later and they walked together to one of four lines, it looked like they would have a half hour wait at the least. They didn’t mind much as they cracked up a conversation about dragon welfare in the US and how the law really needed some of the improvements that the British Ministry had recently pushed through.

***

“Next!”

“You go first Hermione,” Charlie said.

Hermione walked forward to the short wizard regulating the apparition point.

“Name?”

“Hermione Granger.”

“Destination?”

“London,” Hermione replied simply.

The man checked something on a piece of parchment, “Return journey on a trip for the Ministry of Magic?”

Hermione nodded, and the man said, “ID please?”

As she had before, Hermione showed the man her ID which he inspected and then nodded, “And can I just have your wand for identification purposes?”

Hermione handed her wand over, expecting it to be handed back in a matter of seconds and on her way, as she always was. Instead the wizard frowned, “I am afraid the name you have given me does not match the name registered to this wand ma’am.”

“What?” Hermione asked incredulously, “I think I would know if my name had changed since Wednesday.”

“Do not fret ma’am,” The wizard said, “This happens regularly.”

“Someone must have used my wand and messed up the identification charm,” Hermione said in frustration, not noticing Charlie’s eyes widen behind her.

“Oh it is possible ma’am, but unlikely,” The wizard said, “As the first name matches that which you gave me. However, the surname does not.”

“Whats the surname?” Hermione asked snappishly.

“Weasley,” The short wizard replied.

Hermione’s eyes widened as she turned to look at Charlie, “Weasley?” She hissed.

“It’s definitely Weasley ma’am,” The short wizard reiterated, “Of course this means you won’t be able to travel at this current time.”

Hermione groaned in frustration, “Because my name doesn’t match my ID?”

The short wizard nodded, “I’m afraid we will have to detain you ma’am, while we sort out your situation and give you a new ID. It won’t take more than a few hours.”

“A few hours?” Hermione asked, still angry and frustrated.

“I apologise for this inconvenience ma’am,” He said, “But if you just take a seat in the waiting room over there our officials will be with you as soon as possible.”

With a cat-like hiss of annoyance Hermione waked towards the waiting room, she heard Charlie tell the wizard that he would wait with her and she clenched her fists as she counted to 10 in her head. She had barely sat down in the empty waiting room when Charlie walked in, shutting the door behind him.

“Hermione, I’m-”

“Shut up Charlie!” Hermione snapped as she pushed herself to her feet, “How could you not tell me about this?”

“If I had remembered, then I would have,” Charlie said calmly, “Do you not think I might have mentioned something like this?”

Hermione looked like she was on the verge of a mental breakdown, “How could you be so irresponsible Charlie?”

Charlie raised an eyebrow, his ears turning red, “You’re blaming me? It takes two to say “I do” Hermione!”

“Well none of this would have happened if you hadn’t decided to take me out for a fucking drink! Just a drink you said, not marriage, not sex, _just a drink_!” Hermione shouted, pacing back and forth, looking a little mad.

“Has anyone ever told you that you’re hot when you’re mad?” Charlie asked, trying to calm Hermione down. His comment did the opposite.

“Shut up Charlie, that isn’t helping things right now!” Hermione shouted.

“I’m just trying to make light of the situation,” Charlie said quietly.

“Just like Fred used to do!” Hermione shouted, “And look where that got him! Dead Charlie! Just plan fucking dead!”

Hermione’s anger had ebbed away, and instead she burst into an uncontrollable sobbing fit, sliding down to sit against the wall. Charlie was at a loss of what to do as he sat down next to her on the floor. Through her tears Hermione sobbed, and Charlie could only make out the odd word like “sorry”, “hurts” and “Fred”.

“Hermione,” Charlie said quietly, “Can you stop crying and actually talk to me?”

Hermione looked up, her eyes puffy and red, “Sorry,” she whispered.

“I get that we’re in a bit of a fix here, but crying and losing our tempers isn’t going to get us anywhere,” Charlie said, “And I know you’re feeling a bit unstable right now with all that’s going on but we need our political mastermind to get us out of bloody American customs and back to England for Mums amazing roast beef tomorrow.”

Hermione laughed weakly through her tears, “You Weasley’s and your food,” she said fondly.

Charlie smiled and lifted Hermione up with ease, sitting her down in one of the comfortable chairs, “So is your politics head back on?”

“For the sake of your stomach, I suppose so,” Hermione said.

“At least you have your sense of humour back,” Charlie remarked.

“I’m sorry about my mental breakdown Charlie,” Hermione said honestly, “But I told you last night…I’m messed up.”

“It’s okay, you’ve been through more than most Hermione, Charlie said, “And for the record, I still don’t think your messed up, just battle scarred.”

Hermione shrugged and said, “How do we get out of this?”

“I don’t know,” Charlie said honestly, “And I don’t think we will know what happened until we see the customs officers.”

“I’ve never dealt with wizarding customs before,” Hermione said with worried eyes, “Are they going to arrest us and shout at us and put us in jail like they do in muggle airports?”

“Muggles do that just because of custom issues?” Charlie asked in disbelief, “I’m not anti-Muggle, but that’s pretty screwed up. They will just ask us some questions, give you a new ID with your…married name…and let us go.”

“My married name,” Hermione groaned, “Oh Merlin…I’m a fucking Weasley.”

“Since when did you swear?” Charlie asked in amusement.

“Since the war when I spent a year on the run with only Harry and your arsehole brother for company, while being hunted down by the evilest wizard of our time,” Hermione said dryly, “You just weren’t around to hear it, we discussed this, remember?”

“No, _you _discussed it,” Charlie said, “_I _listened.”

Hermione sighed and dropped her head into her hands, “I can’t believe this is actually happening to me.”

“Am I really that bad?” Charlie asked, a degree of hurt in his voice. It made Hermione look up, momentarily catching the hurt in his blue eyes, but he covered it up quickly.

“Charlie,” Hermione said quietly, “I wanted to try and make something between us…but going from not knowing you very well to being married to you in a day…”

“It’s not ideal, I get it. I’m not offended,” Charlie lied. The air for the first time was awkward between time, but the silence didn’t last long because a door to the right of them opened and a tall, thin wizard called out, “Mr. and Mrs. Weasley?”

“That’s going to take some getting used to,” Charlie muttered.

“Charlie,” Hermione said in a warning voice, fixing him with a stern glare. She had done a glamour charm to remove all traces of her crying fit.

Charlie smiled slightly as they walked into the room together, “Glad to see the calm and collected Hermione making an appearance again,” he whispered.

The room they walked into was dull and consisted of a table with a few seats on either side. It reminded Hermione of a Muggle interrogation room. The tall thin wizard sat down next to a short, plump one and motioned for Hermione and Charlie to sit in the two seats opposite them.

Once all four people in the room were seated, the “interrogation” began.

“So, how can we help you get back to Britain?” The thin wizard asked happily.

Hermione frowned, “What?”

“Well, we have this problem rather often,” The thin man said, “People who don’t remember what they got up to the night before and wake up with new names.”

“Do you find this funny?” Hermione asked in disbelief.

“Come on Hermione, you’d laugh if Harry did it, or any of my brothers,” Charlie reasoned.

Hermione shot Charlie a glare, “Not helpful, Charlie.”

The plump man chuckled, “Ooh, you sound like an old married couple already.”

Hermione fixed the man with a glare that made him swallow and shut up. The thin man said, “So, Mrs. Weasley, _do _you remember the events leading to this?”

“No,” Hermione replied simply, “I have a blank spot of about 3 hours…we both do.”

“Ah,” the thin man said, “Well according to our records, your name changed at 2.04am last night.”

“Great,” Hermione muttered sarcastically.

“Is there any way that this can be reversed?” Charlie asked the two wizards.

“Well, an annulment could be arranged if the marriage hasn’t been consummated,” The short man said.

Hermione was hopeful for a moment, “Oh that’s-”

Charlie caught her eye and shook his head, “Hermione-”

Hermione sighed, her cheeks flushing. The two wizards sniggered, making Hermione glare at them once more.

“It seems that the marriage was indeed wizarding and a blood vow has been made. If the marriage has been consummated then I’m afraid that there is no going back,” The thin man said.

Hermione’s face drained of colour, divorce didn’t exist in the wizarding world, even after the war in this more civilized society that they had formed.

“We’ll worry about that later,” Charlie said to Hermione, “What needs to be done for us both to be able to return to Britain?”

“Well it’s rather simple,” The thin man said cheerfully, “We just need you to both sign these documents authorising a new ID under your wife’s married name. It will take two to three hours to register, and then you can both be on your way home.”

“Good,” Charlie said, reaching under the table and taking Hermione’s shaking hand, “We’ll sign them, yeah?”

It was directed at Hermione, and she nodded wordlessly.

“Excellent,” The thin man said, pushing the single piece of parchment across the table towards them with a quill and an inkpot.

Charlie picked it up and signed it first and then handed it to Hermione. She scanned the document and then began to write her name, pausing after writing her first name. With a sigh of resignation she wrote “Weasley” afterwards and pushed the piece of parchment away from her.

The thin man scanned it and smiled, “It seems everything is in order. I would now ask you to wait for someone to inform you that your new ID has been authorised, and then you will be cleared to travel back to Britain.”

Hermione only nodded, and Charlie smiled at the man weakly, “Thanks very much for all of your help,” he said as they both got to their feet.

“Our pleasure,” The thin man said, “Of all the people we see in this situation week in, week out, you two are the first who seem to actually be able to deal with it.”

Hermione frowned slightly at this, and didn’t hear Charlie’s parting comment as he linked his arm through hers and led her back out into the waiting room. He gently pushed her onto a chair and sat down heavily next to her.

“Well we’re both smart people Hermione. We both got O’s for our Charms N.E.W.T so we know what a blood vow means,” Charlie said, no longer as cheerful as he had been earlier.

“What’s got you so depressed?” Hermione asked, “Do you think I’m desperate enough to kill you to get out of this?”

“Desperate enough, no. Crazy enough, yes,” Charlie said, not flinching as Hermione punched him in the arm and then rubbed her fist.

“That was stupid,” Charlie remarked.

Hermione didn’t say anything.

“In all seriousness Hermione, I’m actually a romantic at heart. I always thought, if I ever did get married, it would be to somebody who loved me,” Charlie said, not meeting Hermione’s eye.

Hermione was slightly gob smacked by this comment, coming from a man who constantly kept everything he was feeling to himself, “Charlie, I’ve only really had a day to get to know you and I already wanted to date you,” she said honestly, “You never know what might happen in a month or a year…”

Charlie turned to her, hope in his eyes once more, “Whose the optimist now?”

“You’re already rubbing off on me,” Hermione remarked weakly.

Charlie smiled and took her hand, “We’ll work this out.”

“Harry told me not to come to Las Vegas,” Hermione admitted, “He said that American wizards only wanted one thing. I told him I was a big girl, and that I could handle it, but as it turned out it wasn’t American wizards that were the problem.”

“You’re handling it fairly well,” Charlie said.

“If I was sensible we wouldn’t be in this situation in the first place,” Hermione said.

“And the same could be said for me,” Charlie said, “We’re both at fault.”

“What do we do now Charlie?” Hermione asked hopelessly.

“We go home,” Charlie said, “You go to Grimmauld Place, I’ll go to the Burrow. We give ourselves some time for a day or so, and then at the dinner tomorrow I’ll talk to Mum and Dad.”

“You can’t tell your parents about this!” Hermione said.

Charlie raised an eyebrow, “And how soon do you think it will go around the Ministry that you have a new ID? The place that Dad, Harry, Ron, and Percy _all _work?”

Hermione groaned, “Charlie, your Mum is going to go crazy when she finds out!”

“I’ll put a positive spin on it,” Charlie said cheerfully.

“_How _can you put a positive spin on this?” Hermione asked in disbelief.

“I’ve got two ideas,” Charlie said, “The first involves me telling her that I’ve finally gotten married. She’s been nagging at me to do that for years.”

Hermione rolled her eyes, “Is the second any better than the first?”

“I think so,” Charlie said, “I’ll just tell her I’m moving back to Britain and when she asks why then I’ll tell her that I’m married.”

“You’re moving back to Britain?” Hermione asked in surprise.

Charlie looked at him in confusion, “Of course I am. I’m hardly going to move back to Romania, and leave you in Britain. The pay isn’t great anyway, I only planned to do it until I settled down, I just didn’t expect it to happen quite this fast. Neville’s had that job on hold for me for the past year he will be delighted.”

Hermione’s eyes were still wide, “But Charlie, you love Romania! You love dragons!”

“Yeah, but now I can introduce them to the Hogwarts curriculum,” Charlie said with a smile, “And besides, I’m pretty sure I’ve found something that I’m going to love more than dragons.”

Hermione’s cheeks flushed, “Who ever knew a Weasley could be so charming.”

Charlie smiled as he put his arm around her, “I told you, you’ve been dating the wrong Weasley’s all your life Hermione.”

“Maybe you were right,” Hermione conceded as she leaned into his embrace.

***

They passed the time talking, and trying not to think about the predicament that they had found themselves in. Hermione found some comfort in the fact she really did have a lot in common with Charlie, more than she had with Ron, or Fred. It took three hours for Hermione’s new ID to be registered, then they were allowed to leave.

Charlie sighed as they got into the line which was now even busier as it was 6pm and full of peak-time travelers, “Remember the time difference.”

“I know, it’s going to be 2am when we get home,” Hermione said, “Harry was expecting me at 11pm, British time.”

“Does he worry about you?” Charlie asked.

Hermione smiled, “He always worries about me, he worries about everyone.”

Charlie chuckled, and Hermione said, “He even worried about you when we heard about that rebellion in Romania last month.”

“Who would have thought the boy-who-lived is such a softie,” Charlie said in amusement.

“He’s been through a lot…I guess he just wants everyone he loves to be happy,” Hermione said.

“And are you one of the people he loves?” Charlie asked.

Hermione frowned, “What do you mean?”

Charlie elaborated, “I was just surprised that nothing ever happened between you two, with you being friends for so long.”

“Harry’s a lovely guy, but we just never wanted to complicate our friendship,” Hermione said honestly.

“So nothing happened when Ron left during the war?” Charlie asked, his eyes flashing with something, something like jealous.

“No…it wasn’t the right atmosphere for anything like that. We were both so depressed without Ron around, it wouldn’t have been right,” Hermione said, “And I…I was committed to Fred.”

“Yeah, I understand that,” Charlie said, “I admire your dignity.”

“Not that I have much anymore,” Hermione said as they got closer to the front of the line, “I got married in Las Vegas.”

Charlie smiled and put his arm around Hermione’s shoulders, “Keep your head up.”

Hermione nodded, and Charlie said, “I’m glad, you know? That nothing happened between you and Harry.”

Hermione smiled, “Well, even if I had wanted it to, it wouldn’t have. Harry is fairly happy with his _boyfriend _at the moment.”

Charlie’s eyes widened, “Wow, he kept that quiet.”

“Intentionally,” Hermione said, “So please keep it quiet. Your Mum and Ginny know, but nobody else.”

“I’m good at keeping secrets,” Charlie said with a smile, “Whose he dating anyway? Anyone I know?”

“I would think so, since he offered you a job,” Hermione said in amusement.

“Neville?” Charlie asked in a surprised whisper, “Well, good luck to them. Harry deserves to be happy after all the crap he went through.”

Hermione smiled, “That’s nice Charlie…I would never have been able to tell Ron, he just wouldn’t accept it.”

“Yes, but Ron, as much as hes my little brother who I love, is also a prejudiced git at times,” Charlie said matter of factly as they reached the front of the line.

“Next!”

Hermione walked forward, thankfully this was a different wizard than the one she had spoken to earlier.

“Name?”

“Hermione…Weasley,” Hermione said, still finding that very disconcerting.

“Destination?”

“London.”

“Return journey from a Ministry business trip?”

Hermione nodded, handing over her Ministry ID then her wand. This time it was a quick check to confirm her identity and then it was handed back to her.

With pleasantries the wizard told her she could be on her way so she walked into the shimmering silver circle on the ground and spun on her heel. She reappeared at the British apparition centre and stepped out of the circle where a tall, lanky wizard greeted her.

“Good evening Mrs. Weasley,” He said cheerfully, “Did you have a good trip?”

Hermione forced a smile onto her face, “Yes, I did, thank you.”

She was scanned to make sure she hadn’t splinched anything since it had been such a long distance journey and then she was allowed to leave. Making her way out of the crowded area to a small waiting area, she stood and waited for Charlie.

When he appeared he smiled, “I wasn’t sure if you would wait for me.”

Hermione could only smile weakly in response, “You are my husband.”

“I ought to get home, Mum isn’t expecting me until tomorrow morning so it will be a nice surprise,” Charlie said.

Hermione nodded, “And Harry will be worried, I expect he’s waiting up for me.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow?” Charlie asked hopefully.

“Yeah,” Hermione confirmed, “You will.”

“Goodnight then Hermione,” Charlie said.

Hermione then surprised him, and herself, as she pushed herself onto her tiptoes and lightly kissed Charlie on the lips, “Goodnight Charlie,” she said quietly.

With a smile they parted, both going to their separate homes. When Hermione arrived with a crack on the doorstep of Grimmauld Place she opened the door quietly in case Harry was asleep and tiptoed through the house.

She only got as far as the hallway when she saw the light in the living room through the open door and then Harry appeared at the door, “Hermione! I was so worried! You were supposed to be here hours ago!”

Hermione rolled her eyes in exasperation, “I got held up by customs,” she said as she walked into the living room, seeing Neville sitting on one of the armchairs still in his dirty robes, he taught Herbology.

“He was on the verge of sending out an Auror search party,” Neville said in amusement.

“He’s mental Neville,” Hermione said as she sat down heavily in another armchair, “You don’t have to live with him.”

“Better me than Ron,” Harry said.

“How did the disciplinary hearing this afternoon go?” Hermione asked her best friend.

“Fine,” Harry said with a slight smile, “He wouldn’t say so, but I’m pretty sure Ron dropped the charges.”

“Well, he is your best friend,” Hermione said, “But I’m glad things went well.”

“How did the business trip go?” Harry asked.

“And how did you end up in customs?” Neville asked.

Hermione groaned, “It’s a long story.”

“What happened?” Harry asked, worried once more.

“I met somebody…” Hermione said.

Neville leant forward eagerly, “Who? Anyone we know?”

“Yeah,” Harry agreed, “Is it anyone we know?”

Hermione nodded, “But it’s more complicated than that…we sort of…got married.”

Harry’s jaw dropped, and Neville said, “Wow, that’s unexpected.”

“Well,” Harry said, “Can’t you just get an annulment?”

Hermione’s cheeks flushed, “Um, that’s not an option Harry.”

Neville grinned in amusement, “Well, well, they always do say you have to watch out for the quiet ones.”

“Shut up Neville,” Hermione said half-heartedly.

“Wait, did you say we knew this guy?” Harry asked.

“Well, you should do,” Hermione said, biting her lip, “He is your best friends brother.”

Harry and Neville frowned, sharing a glance, then Harry began to mutter under his breath, “George is dating Angelina…Percy’s married…and so is Bill…oh Merlin, you married Charlie!”

“Yes Harry, I did,” Hermione said dryly.

“I always thought he was…” Harry trailed off.

“No, just more interested in dragons than women apparently,” Hermione said, “But I seem to be an exception.”

“So what are you going to do?” Neville asked.

“I don’t know,” Hermione said, “But I think we’re going to try and make it work, we both like each other after all.”

“And you haven’t really got much choice,” Harry pointed out.

Neville rolled his eyes, “Tactful Harry.”

“Well Charlie seems pretty serious about this,” Hermione said, “Apparently hes liked me since Bill and Fleur’s wedding.”

“Wow, he kept that quiet,” Harry said.

“Funny, he said the same thing about you and Neville,” Hermione remarked.

“You told him?” Harry asked in disbelief.

“Harry, he’s my husband,” Hermione said.

“That’s going to take some getting used to,” Harry said.

“Tell me about it,” Hermione muttered.

“So are you moving to Romania?” Neville asked.

“Hopefully not,” Hermione said honestly, “Charlie still wants to take you up on your offer to give him the Care of Magical Creatures job.”

Neville’s eyes lit up, “That would great, Minerva will be delighted. Hagrid really wanted to retire but I told him I’d have to keep him on because I couldn’t find a replacement. The new term _does _start in 3 weeks though.”

“I don’t think he’ll mind,” Hermione admitted, “But I’ll tell him to owl you.”

“Thanks Hermione,” Neville said, “I’ve been trying to get Charlie to take that job since I was made Deputy Headmaster last year.”

“I know, he told me,” Hermione said in amusement.

“So are you finally realising what I’ve known all along?” Harry asked his best friend.

Hermione frowned, and Harry elaborated, “That Charlie is much more like Fred than you originally thought?”

“I knew that all along,” Hermione said honestly, “I was just scared of it.”

Harry smiled, “So are you coming tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” Hermione said, “I promised Charlie that I would. But nobody can know, alright? Not even Molly and Arthur.”

“My lips are sealed,” Harry said with a smile.


	4. But, All Actions Have Consequences

“You look like you’re going to throw up.”

“I’m fine,” Hermione said as she stood in front of a mirror in the living room of Grimmauld place. She was very pale, but it was just because she was nervous.

“You’ll be okay,” Harry said with a smile, “Just act naturally, and no one will suspect a thing.”

Hermione nodded and turned around, “We should go, we’ll be late otherwise.”

Harry linked his arm through hers and they walked out of the house. Apparating together from the doorstep of Grimmauld Place, and arriving at the gate leading into the garden of the Burrow. It was the end of the first week of August, and the weather was still warm enough for them to eat outside, but it seemed that they wouldn’t be doing so today. Hermione tried to control her nerves as she walked arm-in-arm with Harry to the back door of the house, he pushed it open and walked into the kitchen which was very big now due to the Weasley’s finally being able to pay for permission to put an extending charm on it.

They were the last to arrive, so the kitchen was full and buzzing. Molly was busy cooking, with Ginny helping her, in the actual kitchen. In the dining room part of the new extended area, were the rest of the Weasley’s.

Arthur was sitting at the head of the table with his oldest grandchild, Victoire, sitting on his knee giggling. She had her Mothers blonde hair, and her Fathers blue eyes, unlike her little sister. Fleur was holding the newest addition to the Weasley family, Dominique, who unlike Victoire had a head full of red hair already at barely a month old. Next to Fleur was Bill, and next to him was Charlie who was too busy in conversation with his brother to notice Harry and Hermione coming in. On Charlie’s other side was Percy who was talking to his wife Audrey about something, Audrey was very tall and she was one of the sweetest people Hermione had ever met. In her arms, was their only child, Molly, who would be a year old next month, she had inherited the infamous Weasley red hair and blue eyes. At the other end, opposite Arthur was Molly’s vacant seat, and on the other side of the table there were currently only two people. George was holding his 5 month old son Fred, who was a carbon copy of his mother, Angelina, with hazel eyes and dark brown hair, next to him was his wife.

“Harry, Hermione!” Molly said cheerfully when she saw them, “I’m so glad you could both make it!”

Hermione smiled as Molly hugged her, “I wasn’t sure if I was welcome or not after all that happened.”

“Oh don’t be silly dear,” Molly said, “Like I told Charlie, you’re still family. He did pass on the message, didn’t he?”

“Yes, he did,” Hermione said with a smile, “And I really appreciate it, thank you.”

Molly brushed this off, “Sit down, sit down, both of you,” she said after she had kissed Harry on the cheek. They took their seats, Hermione opposite Charlie with Harry on one side of her and George on the other.

“I didn’t know you and Charlie were working together,” Bill said to Hermione.

“Yeah, very briefly,” Hermione said, “I was assisting him to bring back two Welsh greens who had been stolen from the Forest of Dean.”

“Ah, I see,” Bill said, “So were you out in Romania then Hermione?”

“No, the US actually,” Hermione said, “It was my first business trip out of Europe and they offered me a job.”

“Who did? The American Ministry?” Percy asked in surprise.

Charlie nodded, “They asked her to be liaison between the American Ministry and the British. I was in the meeting at the time, you should have seen her face.”

George and Bill chuckled, and Percy said eagerly, “So are you going to take the job?”

“I don’t know,” Hermione said honestly.

Audrey said, “It’s a big decision for her Percy, she’s only 23.”

“Yeah, you’ve got plenty of time to work it out,” Harry agreed.

“As much as it would be nice, and I know it’s a huge pay-raise I don’t think I’ll take it,” Hermione said, “It would involve working in America for weeks at a time, and I’m pretty attached to Britain.”

Bill nodded, “From personal experience, it’s hard to be away from your family for so long when you’re that far away. Europe’s different as Charlie will tell you, but the US and Africa, even Asia, it’s a long haul.”

“Especially when you get to the point of settling down Hermione,” Arthur cut in, “It’s hard to be so far away from your family when you’ve got little ones.”

Hermione paled slightly at this comment and said, “Well, like I said, I’m happy where I am…and if I get bored at the Ministry, Neville will give me the Transfiguration job I’m sure.”

Arthur chuckled and said, “Yes, well I think Minerva would thank you for that. She says that she is getting too old to run the school and the Transfiguration department.”

“Did you get the dragons back safely?” Ginny asked as she sat down next to Harry.

“Not yet, they’re in a holding camp while they recover,” Charlie said, “I mostly recommended Hermione for the political side of it, I doubt I could have dealt with the inter-politics system very well.”

“You just went in and saved the dragons, I sorted out the aftermath,” Hermione chuckled.

Charlie smiled, “You would have been good in liaisons, I can see why they tried so hard to recruit you.”

Hermione blushed and Harry chuckled, “Don’t flatter her, it embarrasses her.”

Hermione playfully hit Harry on the arm, and hoped the talk would turn away from her business trip and to something else. It did, but it wasn’t exactly nice either.

“I’m glad you came today Hermione,” Arthur said, “We hoped that you would still see us as family after what happened.”

Hermione nodded, “I am so sorry for what happened Arthur…I just realised when Ron proposed that I didn’t love him and I couldn’t do that to him.”

“At least you realised before you married him dear,” Molly said as she began to put platters of food on the table, “Otherwise I fear even more people would have been hurt.”

Hermione nodded, and George said quietly, “I know why you couldn’t, and I’m glad you stuck to your guns. Fred wouldn’t have wanted you to be in an unhappy marriage.”

Hermione smiled weakly, she was in an unwanted marriage as it was. It wasn’t necessarily an unhappy one however…

“Well dig in everyone,” Molly said happily as she sat down.

Everyone did, and the small talk continued, “So why is Ron working today?”

“Why do you think?” Harry replied, “He’s behind on his paperwork _as usual_.”

Arthur chuckled and said, “He has never been the most organised.”

Harry rolled his eyes, “He’s great in the field, but not so much on the paperwork front.”

“That’s my fault, I always did all his homework for him,” Hermione remarked.

Harry chuckled, “That could have something to do with it.”

The conversation then turned to Charlie, as Molly said, “So how long are you here for dear?”

“I’m not sure yet,” Charlie said, catching Hermione’s eye, “A couple of days, probably.”

“Oh that will be nice,” Molly said with a smile, “I do miss having you home.”

Charlie smiled, “I’ve only got 2 weeks left on my contract in Romania,” he said, “I’m not sure if I’ll sign on for another 2 years or not.”

“Oh?” Arthur asked, “You getting sick of it son?”

Charlie shrugged, “I love dragons, but I think it’s maybe time for a change of scene, a new camp maybe. I’ve been with that one for years now.”

“You could always consider a move back here,” Molly said, “It would be lovely to have you home again.”

Charlie smiled and said, “I’m thinking about it Mum, but I’m undecided.”

That part was a lie, but it made Molly smile happily, “Good, you need to find a girlfriend Charlie. You’re getting older you know, they won’t wait forever.”

Charlie rolled his eyes, “I know what age I am Mum,” he said in amusement.

Ginny chuckled, and said, “Leave him alone Mum, if he never gets married then he never gets married. Haven’t you got enough grandkids as it is?”

Molly smiled sheepishly and said, “Oh I know, I just want you to be happy Charlie.”

“Trust me Mum,” Charlie said, once more glancing at Hermione out of the corner of his eye, “I am.”

Hermione smiled slightly, and George whispered, “So when did you two get together?”

Her eyes widened, “What?” she asked in an undertone.

George grinned, “Don’t try and lie to me Hermione, I can see all of the glances.”

Hermione whispered, “On my business trip in Vegas, but please keep quiet about it George, nobody knows.”

“My lips are sealed,” George said with a smile, then he pretended to zip his lips shut.

Hermione tuned back into the wider conversation.

“…If I do ever move back to Britain I’m going to need a pet pygmy dragon,” Charlie was saying, “I can’t just cut myself off from dragons completely.”

“Don’t you have enough tattoos of dragons?” Molly asked.

“Oh come on Mum, let him get a dragon,” Ginny said, “That would be wicked.”

George agreed eagerly, and Arthur said, “Good luck finding a girlfriend when you’ve got a pet dragon son.”

“Some girls like dragons,” Charlie said with a grin, once more chancing a glance at Hermione.

“The only female I know who likes dragons is Hermione,” George said in amusement. He then swiftly got kicked under the table by Hermione.

“I don’t want to be accused of cradle snatching now, do I?” Charlie asked cheekily.

Fleur smiled, “There’s only 8 years between you two, that’s not very different from Bill and I.”

“Yeah, and look how many people accuse me of cradle snatching and you of being a gold digger,” Bill remarked.

“If she’s a gold digger she’s not a very good one,” George said, “She married a Weasley.”

“Oi!” Bill said with a grin, “At least she married the one who earns a lot.”

“You’re all doing very well,” Molly said proudly, “What with Bill working at the bank, and George being an entrepreneur…oh and Percy being the junior Minister of Magic! Not to mention Ron and Ginny, an Auror and an international Quidditch star!”

“What am I Mum the next door neighbor?” Charlie asked in amusement.

“Oh yes Charlie, I’m sure you do very well,” Molly said.

“Very well for a savage,” Bill remarked.

“Who lives in a mud hut,” Harry said in amusement.

George sniggered, “And works with all those sweaty men.”

Charlie raised an eyebrow, “Do any of you actually know how much I get paid?”

“We’ve never really asked dear,” Molly said.

Charlie grinned, “Alright,” he said as he conjured up several pieces of parchment and handed them all out, “Write down what you think I get paid yearly and chuck your piece of parchment into the middle of the table.”

There was some sniggering as everyone did so, and Hermione smirked as she wrote down her slightly lengthy answer, folded her parchment and threw it into the middle of the table. When everyone had done the same Charlie pulled the pile towards him and started opening them up.

The first one he opened was Arthurs as he remarked the handwriting was too messy to be anyone else’s, “18,000 Galleons, good guess Dad, but wrong.”

Charlie seemed to be enjoying this as he picked up another piece, which had very delicate feminine hand-writing, he nodded, “15,000 Galleons, also a good guess Fleur.”

At the next one he snorted, “Poor little savage?” he asked as he looked at George, “And you’re way off, I earn more than 10,000 Galleons a year.”

“Well, I suppose they have to give you more for all the mud huts,” George said, sharing an amused glance with Harry as Angelina rolled her eyes.

“Alright,” Charlie said opening another, “Really Mum?” he asked in disbelief, “You’re also really far off with 12,000 Galleons.”

Molly blushed slightly, “I’m sorry Charlie, I don’t know the salaries of your business.”

“It’s okay,” Charlie said with a smile as he opened another, “No Harry, it’s more than 11, 000 Galleons,” he said as he threw the bit of parchment at the boy-who-lived. Hermione sniggered when she realised Harry had drawn a picture of a stick figure who was meant to be Charlie, standing in front of a mud hut.

Still chuckling Charlie opened another, “16,000 Galleons, good guess,” he said.

“And…16,500 Galleons, also good,” Charlie said as he looked to Angelina and Audrey.

“13,000 Galleons, come on Perce,” Charlie said in amusement, “I’m worth more than that.”

Percy rolled his eyes, “You tame dragons.”

“Dragons are very dangerous creatures Percy,” Hermione said, at the same time as Charlie said, “Do you _know _how dangerous dragons are?”

They caught each other’s eyes, and Hermione blushed. Charlie only grinned.

“Why don’t you two get together and form a dragon lovers anonymous club?” George asked with a grin.

“Yeah,” Harry teased, “My names Hermione, and my love of dragons has completely taken over my life.”

“Shut up Harry,” Hermione said as Charlie roared with laughter.

As it died down he picked up another piece of parchment, “19,000 Galleons, _very _close Bill.”

Bill smirked, he probably knew Charlie better than the rest of his brothers. Opening another he nodded, “18,500 Galleons, also very close Gin.”

Picking up the last piece Charlie said, “And this must be yours Hermione.”

Hermione nodded, and Charlie’s eyes widened when he read it, “Spot on.”

“So how much do you earn?” Ginny asked eagerly.

“20,000 Galleons a year,” Charlie said.

“What?” Percy asked, “For taming dragons.”

“Well as Hermione so helpfully wrote on her piece of parchment,” Charlie said in amusement, “I don’t _just _tame dragons. I get 8,000 Galleons a year for being Head Keeper at the most famous dragon reserve in Europe.”

“Not that you’re cocky about it,” George said in a mock serious tone.

Charlie grinned, “And I also get 2,000 Galleons a year for my work as liaison with the Romanian Ministry.”

“So where does the other 10,000 Galleons come from?” Percy asked.

“5,000 a year for my work in liaison with the British Ministry, and another 5,000 for my work with the American,” Charlie said as he leant back in his chair, “I work in politics, not just dragons.”

“You work _in _dragons? Is that why you don’t have a girlfriend yet?” Bill asked, getting smacked around the head by Charlie.

“Boys, stop it!” Molly said, unable to hide her slight smile however. It made her serious façade all the harder to believe.

“How did you get it spot on Hermione?” Charlie asked.

“You told me the other day when we were talking about how much of a pay-raise liaison with the American Ministry would give me,” Hermione said.

“I didn’t realise you were listening that intently,” Charlie said.

“I pay attention,” Hermione said simply.

“How do you think she remembered 7 years’ worth of knowledge and got 7 Outstanding’s in her N.E.W.T”s?” Harry said with a chuckle.

Charlie just chuckled, and the conversation turned to Bill and Fleur as Molly asked, “How is little Dominique getting on?”

Fleur smiled, “She’s perfectly fine Molly.”

“How are you two?” Molly asked.

“We’re coping,” Bill said, “We didn’t plan on having a 2 year old and a baby, so it’s a little stressful, but we’re coping.”

“I’m sure that’s what Mum and Dad said every time,” George remarked.

“Oh George, be quiet,” Molly said in fond exasperation.

“Well we might not remember much,” Bill said as he looked at his daughter, “But she’s a blessing all the same.”

Hermione was now very pale, and she felt sick with nerves again. Trying to keep a smile on her face she excused herself and ducked into one of the rooms on the first floor to give herself a moment to breathe.

As she looked around she realised it was obviously Charlie’s old room as there were posters of dragons and Quidditch players covering every inch of wall space. Hermione sat down on the edge of his bed, feeling stupid and sick with worry. She had barely been in the room for a minute when the door opened and Charlie walked in, shutting it quietly behind him.

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Charlie asked.

Hermione nodded, “I don’t remember using the charm…”

“Neither do I,” Charlie admitted.

Hermione sighed, letting her head fall into her hands, “Charlie, we might have really screwed up here.”

Charlie sat down next to her on the bed, putting his arm around her shoulder, “We can find out if you want…but we would have to tell someone.”

“I know,” Hermione said, “I thought of it too, but do you know anyone with good enough legilimency to look into the memory? And do you really want anyone to see that?” she blushed.

“Well they wouldn’t have to watch the whole thing, just the beginning, to see if either of us used the charm,” Charlie said.

“Harry could do it,” Hermione said.

“Yeah, and he already knows about us,” Charlie added.

Hermione nodded glumly, “I’ll get him to do it tonight, if you can come to Grimmauld Place.”

“Sure,” Charlie said, “Hermione…I really think we ought to tell Mum about this.”

“Merlin Charlie,” Hermione snapped, “You’re such a Mummy’s boy.”

Charlie sighed, “She suspects anyway, and I don’t mean _everything, _just the marriage part.”

Hermione groaned, “I know we should, but I just…”

“You’re scared,” Charlie said, “And to be honest, so am I, but having her perspective might help.”

Hermione nodded, “Alright, we’ll talk to her after dinner.”

Charlie smiled and stood up, looking around the room, “I can’t believe Mum hasn’t redecorated this yet.”

“She wants to hold onto you for as long as she can,” Hermione said with a smile.

Charlie nodded, “I’m ending my contract when I go back to Romania. I’ve owled Neville about the Care of Magical Creatures job.”

“You’re really moving over here?” Hermione asked as she too got to her feet.

“I’m serious about making this work Hermione,” Charlie said, pulling her close to him, “I’ve wanted this for the last three years, now that I have you I’m not going to let you slip away.”

Hermione smiled, leaning up and kissing him like she had the night before. For a moment they both forgot that they were in his old bedroom in his childhood home. That was, until the door opened.

Charlie and Hermione jumped apart, and George grinned, “Well, what have we got here then?”

“George, shut the door!” Hermione hissed.

George chuckled as he pushed the door shut behind him, “I thought they said what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas,” he remarked.

“Shut up George,” Hermione muttered.

George grinned, “If you’re trying to hide _this_, your failing. Mum suspects already.”

“We know,” Charlie said.

George walked to stand next to Hermione, “Are you two planning on telling her?”

“We think we ought to,” Charlie said, “Hermione’s the one against it.”

“You know she’ll be fine with it,” George said, “I mean…she was fine when Harry broke up with Ginny.”

“That’s because Ginny didn’t really care,” Hermione pointed out.

George shrugged, “All the same, she was fine when you didn’t marry Ron.”

Hermione sighed, and then frowned when she saw George looking at something, “Hey, that’s my-”

“Congratulations Mrs. Weasley,” George said with a grin as he threw her ID back to her, “Fred would be proud.”

“George!” Hermione hissed.

“Don’t worry, I won’t say anything, what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas after all,” He said with a smile, “But I am happy for you both, and Mum will be too.”

“_If _we tell her,” Hermione said.

Charlie nodded, “When we tell her,” he muttered under his breath to George who sniggered, “You sound like an old married couple already,” as he left the room.

Hermione sighed heavily, “We’ll tell her, but can we at least be prepared for the fallout?”

Charlie smiled as he lifted Hermione up and pulled her onto his lap, she gasped in surprise at the sudden contact, “There won’t be a fallout,” he assured her.

“Yes, there will,” Hermione said, “My job is to cover things up and reduce the severity of situations.”

“You’re thinking about this too politically,” Charlie said, not bothering to move her from his lap.

“But I need to,” Hermione said heavily, “I mean even if your Mum is fine with it, Ron won’t be.”

“We’ll worry about Ron later,” Charlie said, “And _stop worrying_, Mum will be fine with it.”

“Mum will be fine with what?”

The voice came from the slightly ajar doorway, and Hermione’s face paled as she turned to where Molly was now standing. There was no hiding anything now, Hermione was sitting in Charlie’s lap, there was no way to spin this into something it wasn’t.

Charlie smirked slightly, “About the fact I’ve got my wife in my lap.”

Molly’s eyes widened and she opened her mouth and shut it before finally finding words, “What?” she asked feebly.

Hermione glared at Charlie and got to her feet. He said in a serious tone of voice, “I’m sorry Mum, I’ll explain.”

“Yes,” Molly said with a stern look, “Do.”

Hermione bit her lip anxiously and Charlie said, “Hermione and I worked together in Las Vegas, and when we had finished on Friday night we went out for dinner. I took her out for a few drinks and things escalated. The next thing we remembered was waking up in a hotel together with fuzzy memories of the night.”

Molly was slightly pale as she nodded, and Charlie continued, “The reason I was so late home last night was because we got held up at customs when we found out Hermione’s name was changed from Granger to Weasley. We don’t remember it, but we got…married.”

“Married?” Bill’s voice said from where he and the rest of the family were lurking in the doorway.

Molly ignored this, “You’re married?” she asked, looking between them.

They both nodded, and Molly asked, “Wizarding?”

Charlie nodded, “A blood vow.”

Molly seemed to be completely taken aback, and Hermione said, “I’m so sorry Molly, it just got completely out of control and it wasn’t meant to happen but…” she trailed off.

“But we’re going to make it work,” Charlie finished, “Because we’ve got something real here, regardless of the circumstances.”

Molly smiled weakly, “Well Hermione, Arthur and I always did consider you as part of the family.”

Hermione was too panicked to even manage a smile, Charlie however chuckled, “And there’s some other good news Mum. I’m moving back to Britain permanently, I’m going to take the Care of Magical Creatures job at Hogwarts.”

Molly’s got teary as she moved across the room to where Charlie and Hermione were now standing up, “Oh thank you so much Hermione,” she said as she enveloped her in a hug, “For bringing my son back to Britain.”

Hermione could only blush as she patted Molly on the back.

Charlie grinned and said, “The rest of you can come in now, I know you’re there.”

It was an amusing scene with all of the Weasley’s crowded into Charlie’s fairly small childhood bedroom. Hermione managed to break free from Mrs. Weasley and was completely overwhelmed when the others started congratulating her as if this was completely okay and normal. Molly pulled them all back into the kitchen/dining room area and said, “I’m glad you two have found each other. If you were to marry any of my sons Hermione, I think Charlie is the one you would be happiest with.”

Hermione smiled weakly, and Bill said, “And Charlie has had a crush on you since he was legally allowed to.”

“And probably before that too,” George chipped in.

Charlie’s ears went red with embarrassment as he said, “Come on guys, that’s not cool.”

It had done what Bill and George had wanted it too however, and Charlie saw that too, it had made Hermione laugh and put her at ease again.

“Well I was 13 when you first met me Charlie,” Hermione said in amusement.

Bill tutted, “Cradle snatcher.”

“Like you can talk,” Charlie said in amusement, “You’re a cradle snatcher with two kids.”

Fleur chuckled and said, “Charlie does have a point there.”

Bill rolled his eyes in amusement, and Percy then lowered the mood, “I personally am very happy for you both, but I must voice what everyone is thinking. How are you planning to tell Ron about this?”

“Tell me what?”

The room fell completely silent as everyone turned in unison to Ron who had just walked through the back-door.

Hermione gulped, and Charlie said bluntly, “About Hermione and I.”

Ron’s eyes narrowed, “What?” he asked sharply.

“We got married Ron,” Hermione said weakly, “In Las Vegas.”

Ron’s reaction was more hurtful than Hermione could have imagined and until that point, she had not fully realised quite how much one word could hurt. He sneered at them and said distastefully, “You slut.”

Charlie’s reaction was instant, not even thinking about drawing his wand he pounced on his younger brother, punching him in the face as Harry had done when Ron had kicked Hermione out. Ron hit him back and in seconds it had turned into a brawl on the floor. Hermione’s nails were clutching her face, as they had during Harry’s first task in the Triwizard Tournament, as she watched on. Molly was shouting at them, trying to get them to stop fighting.

Bill sighed and muttered to Harry, “10 galleons says Charlie will break his nose.”

Harry shook his head, “10 galleons says Ron will break his nose.”

“Deal,” he said, shaking Harry’s hand.

“Why do you always have to have the things I want Charlie?” Ron hissed as he went for his older brother’s face.

“Hermione isn’t a possession Ron, she is a person!” Charlie said.

Molly finally broke them apart by using her wand to create a shield charm between them. Charlie was breathing heavily as he moved back to Hermione, pulling her hands away from her face and sighing when he saw the claw marks there from her nails.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered as he quickly performed a healing charm to vanish the cuts.

Hermione could only nod, this was too much to cope with in such a short space of time.

On the other side of the barrier Harry went to Ron and said, “Look mate, you’ve got to get over this. I know neither of us are your favourite people right now, but you can’t let this ruin your life.”

Ron sighed and leant against the wall, “I always thought it would be me and Hermione, and you and Ginny.”

“So did I, but then the war happened Ron,” Harry said, “And it changed everyone alright? Things were never just going to go back to normal after…everything.”

“By “everything” you mean me leaving,” Ron said quietly, “She could never forgive me for it, I could tell.”

“You’re right, she didn’t,” Harry said honestly, “And I think that’s partly why she wasn’t connecting with you in that way anymore, but it doesn’t have to ruin your friendship unless you let it.”

Ron nodded glumly, “I guess I only have myself to blame…I should never have left.”

“You also shouldn’t have called her a slut,” George said slightly bitterly.

Ron’s ears went red and he bowed his head, “I know I just…I lost my temper, it was a shock.”

“They didn’t intend to get married Ron,” Harry said, “But there is something real between them and they are working on that. Hermione is happy, and if you really love her you will accept that.”

“When did you get so wise?” Ron asked sarcastically, “You sound like Dumbledore.”

Harry shrugged, “I guess I’m just battle-scarred.”

Ron nodded, “I’m sorry for calling a disciplinary hearing against you.”

“I’m sorry for punching you,” Harry countered.

Ron smiled weakly as he and Harry hugged, “Bloody hell Harry, we’ve got to stop doing this.”

Harry chuckled and nodded his agreement. Glancing across the room Ron then said, “I’m going to apologise,” as he walked towards Charlie and Hermione. The shield charm had now been dropped by an exasperated Molly.

Charlie eyed Ron suspiciously, and Ron said, “I’m sorry Charlie, for fighting with you, and for calling you that Hermione. I was shocked…and jealous…but there was no excuse for it.”

“You’re forgiven,” Charlie said, “Sorry for punching you.”

Ron shrugged, “I deserved it for what I said.”

“I’m sorry Ron,” Hermione said, “I never meant to hurt you like this…Charlie and I…it was an accident but we’re working on making something good from it.”

“Hey, I get it,” Ron said honestly, “We would never have worked out Hermione, as much as I wanted us to. You never forgave me for leaving, and you probably never will, not really.”

“You’re right,” Hermione said honestly, “We could never be in a relationship because of that but hopefully we can salvage a friendship.”

“I hope we can too,” Ron said sincerely, “And come by the flat anytime to get your stuff, I’m sorry for kicking you out.”

“You lost your temper, it was understandable,” Hermione said.

Shrugging again Ron said, “Congratulations anyway, I hope he makes you happy Hermione, I know I couldn’t.”

Hermione gave a slightly guilty nod, “He does Ron, he really does.”

A silence fell across the room which Molly countered by saying, “Does anyone want desert?”

The air was still slightly tense as people moved back to the table, but Hermione didn’t really feel like eating.

“Are you okay Hermione dear?” Molly asked.

“She’s just feeling the after effects of long distance apparition,” Charlie said as he squeezed Hermione’s shoulder, “The time difference is bigger than what she’s used to in Europe.”

Hermione yawned, and Molly asked, “When was the last time you slept Hermione?”

“Uh, well Saturday morning in America…we left at 6pm which was 2pm here so I wasn’t tired when I got back,” she yawned again.

“Come on then, I’ll take you home Hermione,” Charlie said gently.

Molly smiled at the interaction and Bill made a joke about him being a devoted husband.

Charlie rolled his eyes, “None of you will be used to me openly displaying emotion.”

“Not towards women anyway,” George said.

“Yeah, dragons are a different story,” Bill remarked.

Charlie chuckled and said, “I’ll be back in a bit Mum, I’ll just make sure she gets home alright. You know how messed up apparition can get when you’re tired.”

“Of course Charlie,” Molly said with a smile.

“I’ll be back soon to check on her anyway,” Harry told Charlie with a smile.

Hermione said her goodbyes quickly, she was really beginning to flag. She had been fine and then the tiredness had just hit her. She and Charlie left, and Hermione stopped being a control freak and let him apparate for them both. She unlocked the door to Grimmauld Place and let Charlie take her up to her room.

He smiled as she curled up in bed and shut her eyes, “I’ll see you when you wake up,” he whispered as he kissed her forehead. Hermione mumbled, “Night Charlie,” and then she was out like a light.

Still smiling Charlie made his way downstairs just as the front door opened and Harry walked in, “How is she?”

“Safe and sound, and fast asleep,” Charlie said in amusement.

“She looked knackered,” Harry said.

“She’ll be out for a while, 24 hours maybe. It’s her first experience of such a huge time difference, Europe isn’t so bad, but America is 8 hours behind us,” Charlie explained.

Harry nodded, “I’ll keep an eye on her when I’m here.”

“I’ll be around, I’m going back to Romania tomorrow to resign, but after that I’ll be around to keep an eye on her,” Charlie said.

“You really like her, don’t you?” Harry asked.

Charlie only nodded, and Harry said, “I can’t believe I never saw it.”

“You didn’t know Ginny liked you until your 6th year,” Charlie said in amusement.

Harry laughed, “Yeah, I was pretty oblivious.”

Charlie smiled, “Look Harry, I have something I need to ask you…Hermione and I can’t remember if either of us used a vital charm on Friday night and its…worrying.”

Harry smirked slightly, “Let me guess, you want me to check for you?”

Charlie’s ears reddened and he nodded, “I know it’s embarrassing but we gotta know.”

Harry nodded seriously, “Don’t worry I won’t go any further into the memory than I need too.”

“What do you need me to do?” Charlie asked as he followed Harry into the living room.

“Just sit down,” Harry said, “And let me look at your eyes while I say the incantation.”

“Okay,” Charlie said, feeling slightly nervous as he looked at Harry.

He said the incantation and quickly found his way into Charlie’s head, the memory was at the fore so he didn’t have to search long for it. Quickly he watched what he needed to watch and then ended the incantation, “You can stop worrying,” Harry said with a smirk, “You used the charm, Hermione just didn’t notice.”

Charlie breathed a sigh of relief, “Thanks Harry.”

“No problem,” Harry said, “Although I do feel the need to tell you that if you hurt Hermione I’ll break your nose.”

“It’s already been broken 3 times,” Charlie said in amusement.

“What are you and Hermione going to do now?” Harry asked as he sat down in an armchair.

“Well, I’m going to buy a house, and ask her to move in with me,” Charlie said, “And I’ll take the job at Hogwarts…”

“You really think it’s going to work out?” Harry asked.

“You can’t be sure of anything in life,” Charlie said, “But I can hope, and that’s enough. I know I’m crazy about her, I never thought I’d find anyone who was as sarcastic as me who actually enjoyed talking about dragons and house elf welfare. She writes in magazines I’ve subscribed to for years, do you have any idea how _hot _that is?”

“Geek love,” Harry said in amusement, “And I thought Percy was the geek in your family.”

Charlie grinned, “Nah, I’m just more subtle about it.”

Harry laughed, “I’m really happy for you and Hermione, Charlie. I honestly wish you both the best.”


	5. The Good Girl Has Gone Bad

When Hermione opened her eyes wearily and blinked to stop her vision from being so blurry she jumped as she saw someone sitting next to her bed.

“Charlie!”

“Hey, sleeping beauty,” Charlie said with a smile.

Hermione rubbed the sleep from her eyes, “How did you get in here?”

“Harry gave me his spare key,” Charlie said simply.

Hermione thought about this for a moment then swore, “Shit! I’m going to be late for work!”

“Calm down,” Charlie said with a smile, “I owled your boss to say you were catching up on sleep. She owled back saying she understood since it was your first trip to the US.”

Hermione’s eyes widened, “You did that?”

Charlie nodded, “You’re not in any trouble. But I do have something I need to tell you Hermione…”

“What is it?” Hermione asked, sitting up in bed.

“I bought a house this morning,” Charlie said honestly, “In Britain, since I’m moving back here.”

“Wow,” Hermione said, “You really are moving back.”

Charlie nodded, “I’ve resigned in Romania, and I paid the extra so I didn’t have to finish the last couple of weeks of my work there. They’ve just promoted the Junior Head Keeper to Head Keeper, he deserves his turn, the kids only 21 but hes worked really hard.”

“Kid?” Hermione asked in amusement, “Charlie, I’m 23.”

Charlie groaned, “Merlin, I feel like such a cradle snatcher.”

Hermione grinned, “So where is the house you bought?”

“Hogsmeade,” Charlie said with a smile.

“Wow, you got a house in Hogsmeade!” Hermione exclaimed, “They are pretty exclusive, and apparently they are really nice too.”

Charlie’s smile widened, “I know, do you want to come and see it?”

“Yeah!” Hermione said eagerly, “Just let me get dressed and grab something to eat. How long have I been out anyway?”

“Well, it’s noon on Tuesday,” Charlie said in amusement, “But your boss said you could have Monday and Tuesday off on sick leave.”

“Merlin, I’ve never slept for that long in my life,” Hermione said, “That trip to the US must have screwed up my internal clock.”

“It’s normal, you get used to it the more you travel to the US,” Charlie said simply as he got to his feet, “I’ll make you lunch while you get ready.”

“Okay,” Hermione said with a smile.

Charlie was nearly at the door when Hermione said, “Charlie?”

“Yeah?” he said as he turned to look at her.

She smiled broadly, “Thank you, for…everything.”

“No problem,” Charlie said with a smile as he left the room.

***

The house was at the end of the lane, on the opposite side of Hogsmeade from the Hogs Head. It was pretty isolated, but close enough to walk into town and Hogwarts and its setting was absolutely beautiful. From any of the back windows the hills and glens of Scotland could be seen, and Hermione reckoned you would be able to see Hogwarts and the black lake from the upstairs windows.

“Wow Charlie, you did well with this,” Hermione said in awe.

Charlie grinned, “I bought it with my savings, didn’t need to mortgage it or anything.”

Hermione’s eyes widened, “You must have a lot of money in savings.”

Charlie shrugged, “Well, my food and accommodation was provided for me in Romania so most of my wages went into savings. Anyway, that’s not important, do you want the grand tour or not?”

“I do,” Hermione said eagerly. From the outside the house looked amazing, it was a fairly small two-story building that was painted white and looked very quaint. The front door was red and the windows were lined in the same colour, Hermione couldn’t wait to see the inside.

Charlie smiled as he led her into a hallway with several doors leading off of it, he opened the first door, “This is the bathroom,” he said as Hermione looked at the huge room with a proper old-fashioned bath.

“It needs some decorating,” Hermione said in amusement, “And a shower, but it’s nice.”

Charlie smiled and said, “That’s the cupboard under the stairs, or Harry’s room when he comes to stay.”

Hermione chuckled at that, “Don’t say that in front of him, he’ll stun you.”

“I’d like to see him try,” Charlie said in amusement as he led her into a room to the right of the corridor, “This is the living room, it’s pretty big so I guess it could be a dining room too.”

Hermione nodded, the room was empty and it was huge. It could definitely be both a living room and dining room, it was so rustic with real wooden beams on the roof and a large ornate fireplace taking up one of the walls, “It’s amazing Charlie.”

“The kitchen is through there, and that’s just a small room that I’ll probably use as a study,” Charlie said, and Hermione glanced into the two rooms. Charlie then led her into the hall and opened the door at the far end of it.

“This is the smallest bedroom,” He said, “The house has three, I only really need one but they don’t really do anything smaller than three in Hogsmeade,” Charlie joked.

Hermione chuckled as she looked around the room, “I assume you chose Hogsmeade so you could be close to Hogwarts?”

Charlie nodded, “I was torn between Hogsmeade and Ottery St. Catchpole. I figured Hogsmeade would be better since it’s entirely wizarding, means I can keep some pygmy dragons in the back garden.”

“Hagrid would move in if you did,” Hermione said in amusement.

Charlie chuckled as he led Hermione up a rustic, wooden staircase, “He’s already excited about the fact I’m bringing dragons into the curriculum. Did you know there are-”

“Over 6 breeds of non-lethal dragons in the forbidden forest?” Hermione finished, “Yes, I did.”

Charlie grinned, “This is why I like you Hermione, this is why our marriage is going to be incredibly compatible.”

Hermione shook her head in disbelief, “I still haven’t entirely comprehended the fact that we’re actually married Charlie.”

Charlie smiled, “You’ll get there. It doesn’t feel bad though, does it?”

Hermione returned his smile, “No, it doesn’t,” she said.

They were now on a landing in the top of the house which was smaller than the ground floor with sloping roofs and beams, it was beautiful, “Merlin Charlie, this is so nice. It must be really old.”

“It dates back to the 17th century,” Charlie said happily, “I got it for a bargain because it needs some doing up.”

“I bet it was an expensive bargain, if you want to live in the only solely Wizarding town in Britain, you pay the price.”

“It _was _expensive,” Charlie agreed, “But I think it was worth it. Come on, I’ll finish the grand tour.”

Hermione chuckled as Charlie showed her a small second bathroom and then opened a door to another bedroom with a walk in wardrobe. It was bare and drab, like the rest of the house, but it had potential. From the window you could see all of Hogsmeade, this was the front bedroom. Charlie led her to the final room of the house, the master bedroom. It was bigger than the other bedroom upstairs with a bigger walk in wardrobe. That wasn’t what made it though, it was the view. From the large double window you could see the mountains rising up into the clouds, the silhouette of Hogwarts castle, and the glistening black lake.

“Wow,” Was all Hermione could say.

Charlie grinned, “So, do you like it?”

“I love it,” Hermione said honestly, “This is exactly what I would have picked if I could afford to buy a house.”

“It’s okay,” Charlie agreed, “But I think it needs a woman’s touch.”

Hermione frowned, “What do you mean?”

“I mean, this is your bedroom,” Charlie said with a smile.

“What?” Hermione asked weakly.

“I bought it for us, Hermione,” Charlie said, his eyes anxiously searching Hermione’s as he waited for her reaction.

“Oh my…Merlin….Charlie,” Hermione said, her brain catching up to his words, he just grinned.

“Wait…what do you mean _my _bedroom?” Hermione asked suddenly, “Won’t we be sharing?”

“I didn’t want to push you into anything Hermione,” Charlie said softly, “And I didn’t do this for the reason you might think. Harry did the charm on me before you went for your long sleep so now I know. The night that we slept together, I used the contraception charm.”

“Oh Merlin,” Hermione sighed as she leant up and kissed Charlie lightly, “Thank you, that’s a relief.”

Charlie only smiled, “So will you move in with me?”

Hermione nodded, still smiling, “Of course I will, and I will also share a room with you. You _are _my husband after all.”

Charlie grinned and hugged Hermione tightly, “Well, on that note, I have something else to ask you.”

Hermione’s jaw dropped as Charlie went down on one knee and pulled a diamond ring from his cloak pocket, “Hermione, I know we’re already technically married, but I want to do this right. So will you marry me, again?”

Hermione opened and shut her mouth a few times, but no words came out, and Charlie looked slightly worried. Eventually she nodded and said, “Yes, Charlie, I will.”

Charlie breathed a sigh of relief and slid the ring onto her finger where it fit perfectly. He got to his feet and pulled her towards him, kissing her passionately as he had that night in Vegas. When they broke apart, both gasping for air, Hermione said, “I can’t believe you just asked me to marry you, again.”

Charlie grinned, and for some reason they both started laughing and they couldn’t stop until they were both in tears. As they caught their breath Charlie said, “Give this room a lick of red paint and it will come back to life.”

Hermione’s nose wrinkled, “Red? We can’t paint a bedroom red. Something more subtle like blue would be nice…”

“Blue?” Charlie asked with a frown, “I-”

“You hate the colour blue, I know,” Hermione said, “But if we paint it blue that canvas you love of the first dragon you tamed would look perfect on that wall.”

Charlie grinned and kissed Hermione, looking at the wall she had pointed out, “That’s true, Ella is a dark blue and if the walls were pale blue she would look good on that wall.”

Hermione smiled as she looked out of the window, “Is that all ours?” she asked. There was a fairly sizeable back garden with a gate to an even larger field.

Charlie nodded eagerly, “All of it is ours. I was thinking we could keep chickens in the smaller part, and maybe a couple of crups.”

Hermione nodded, “And we could easily make a small dragon reserve in that field…exclusively for pygmy dragons…maybe for abandoned or sick ones that can’t live in the wild…”

“There’s a colony in the forbidden forest,” Charlie said eagerly, “I thought we could take in injured dragons from there and elsewhere then release them back into the wild once they have recovered.”

Hermione was nodding fervently, “That would be fantastic!” she said as she hugged him tightly/

“But I do need to talk to you about something Charlie.”

Charlie nodded, “What is it?” he asked.

Hermione smiled, “I know things haven’t really calmed down since all of this happened Charlie, but I’m really glad that it did. I know it made things happen sooner than they might have done…but if it hadn’t happened I don’t even know if there would be an _us _and I’m so glad that there is.”

Charlie smiled, “I’m glad you’re still happy now that you have come to terms with it.”

Hermione shrugged, still smiling, “Well of course I’m happy. I did end up married to the best looking Weasley.”

Charlie grinned, “I _knew _you thought I was the best looking since that night we played truth and dare, but you wouldn’t admit it!”

Hermione grinned too, thinking back to the night the summer before her 4th year when she and Harry had played truth or dare with the Weasley children. Hermione _had _thought Charlie was the best looking, he still had long hair then, and tattoos and piercings. He was so different from her that it appealed to her, but she would never have admitted it then.

“You were everything my parents told me was bad, Charlie!” Hermione said in amusement, “Tattoos, piercings, long hair…oh shit!”

“What?” Charlie asked, sounding anxious.

“My parents!” Hermione exclaimed, “They don’t know that we’re married…and we’ll have to explain to them that we are, and that we have a house!”

Charlie frowned, “I’m guessing from how much you’re freaking out that they won’t be as cool with it as Mum?”

“Charlie, they have never met you,” Hermione pointed out.

“Right, good point,” Charlie said, “Maybe we should go round for dinner.”

Hermione groaned, “We will have too, my Mum is going to _kill _me.”

“And your Dad?” Charlie asked.

Hermione smiled slightly, “He always said I seemed too good to be true and that I would run off and marry a rebellious rock star. He was pretty close, only I married a dragon tamer, not a rock star.”

“I have no idea what a rock star is,” Charlie admitted, “But I’m pretty sure a dragon tamer is cooler, and hotter.”

Hermione grinned, “It is,” she assured him, kissing him once more on the lips and then asking with excitement, “Can we have a proper look outside?”

“Hermione, if I didn’t know you better I would say you preferred the outside of the house to the inside,” Charlie said sarcastically.

Hermione was already walking out of the room as she threw a smile back at him and said, “Oh come on, let’s go and see how many dragons that field can fit.”

Charlie grinned and sprinted after her.

***

When Hermione went back to work on Wednesday morning she felt like everybody was staring at her. But they weren’t, not any more than normal. They couldn’t know about she and Charlie, the papers hadn’t found out yet, so there was no way her co-workers could know yet.

After all, the only people who _did _know were the Weasleys, Harry and Neville, and they wouldn’t have told anyone.

Hermione held her head high as she walked up to the desk and got her wand scanned through. The security wizard smirked, “New ID,” he said.

Hermione only nodded and hoped nobody would hear this snippet of conversation.

“Congratulations,” He said in amusement, “Mrs. Weasley.”

Hermione shot him a glare and snatched her wand back, saying no more as she stalked off in the direction of her office. She _knew _at some point the world would find out, and the prophet would go _wild _with the news of a war heroine in a shocking runaway marriage. All Hermione could hope to do was put that off for as long as possible, but with a new ID and wand signature she was aware that it would be front page news by tomorrow morning.

She was grateful when she got into an elevator with two strangers, she didn’t really want to face the awkward and inevitable questions from friends and acquaintances. The elevator went up past level 7 and it emptied slightly. Then it went up again to level 6 and emptied even more. By the time it stopped at level 5, where the offices for the Department of International Magical Cooperation were housed almost everyone in the lift got off and Hermione breathed a sigh of relief as it ascended to level 4, where she disembarked.

Hermione walked along the long, thin corridor lined with doors to offices and slipped unnoticed into the one with her name on the door. Once she was sitting down in the comfort of her office behind her desk Hermione felt like she could actually relax as she opened the schedule on her desk and read through the last few days” worth of sticky notes.

_“Sorry you’ve been suffering from the long trip Hermione. I covered as much as possible for you, but we’ve been quiet anyway. Apart from the court case on Friday, and the follow up to your business trip nothing much is going on. I filed some paperwork away for you, oh and the boss says get well soon – H.A.”_

Hermione smiled at the note from her co-worker Hannah whose office was next door to hers and then threw it into the waste paper bin.

_“Upon your return please file the last of the paperwork in the attached folder. I need your prep for the court case by 5pm on Wednesday – J.M.”_

The note was from her boss, Jonathon Moon, who was notorious for being strict on the surface and a softie underneath the façade. Hermione had known him for only a year, but she had been to his house several times for functions and was on a first name basis with his Wife. He had a daughter called Lily, who had been in Hermione’s year at school. The folder his note was attached to contained three pieces of paperwork which had to be filed away to ensure the return of the two Welsh green dragons.

Another note was attached to her desk underneath the folder.

_“I took a floo call for you while you were off sick. It was the Head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures at the American Ministry. He asked me to pass on the message that he was disappointed at your refusal of the promotion he offered you, but that he understood. He passes on his best wishes and says if he ever needs specialist British help again he will call on you. You have always been a sucker, Granger – T.D.”_

Hermione rolled her eyes in amusement, the note was from Tracey Davis, a Slytherin who worked in the Spirit Division of the department. Hermione was junior head of the whole department, and she was mainly based in the Beast Division. However, she was also the go-to-person with anything concerning politics intertwined with magical creatures.

_“Hey again Hermione, sorry for the notes. I floo-ed Grimmauld Place, but Harry said you were dead to the world. We had a floo call from someone at the American Ministry, a woman called Browning I think. She wanted you to know that you had done a good job over there, and that the Welsh Greens are to be moved next Monday. She requested you go over to supervise – H.A.”_

Hermione nodded and stuck the note higher up so she would remember. Sighing she looked down at her schedule, it was 9.15am now, and if today was like any other day her first engagement would be at 9.30am. Hermione’s heart flipped when her eyes caught the engagement ring on her finger, as it did every time she looked at it.

She and Charlie had told the Weasley’s, and Harry, straight after they had left the house. They had told them everything, about the house, about the engagement, about the plans to get married properly. Molly had practically broken down in tears and then started planning the wedding right away. Charlie and Hermione were taken aback by her enthusiasm, and so far they had only set the date. They _had _only gotten engaged the day before however, so in Hermione’s opinion that was pretty impressive.

Wiping the smile from her face Hermione looked at the perfectly planned paper version of her day. It had been written out ever so diligently by Hannah, and Hermione made a mental note to buy her dinner, or chocolate, to thank her for all she had done while Hermione had been “sick”.

_“Wednesday the 15th of August, 2001._

_9.30am: Meeting with Daphne Greengrass, Judges assistant in the court case (Friday the 17th of August) about the theft of two Welsh green dragons.”_

“Shit!” Hermione cursed.

“Am I that bad Granger?” Daphne’s smooth voice asked from the doorway.

Hermione jumped, “I didn’t hear you come in,” she said politely.

“You were too busy looking at that massive rock on your finger,” Daphne said in amusement, “Guess I can’t call you Granger anymore, Mrs. Weasley.”

“How do you know about that?” Hermione asked sharply.

Daphne grinned, “I have my ways, I was a Slytherin after all.”

Hermione sighed, “Well, I suppose it will be front page news tomorrow anyway.”

“I can’t believe you actually married Weasley,” Daphne said as she sat down opposite Hermione, “I never thought you’d give in to him.”

“What?” Hermione asked with a frown.

“Well, you said no when he first proposed, I didn’t think you would go running back to him,” Daphne said bluntly.

“Wait…you’re talking about Ron,” Hermione realised, “You think I married Ron?”

Daphne’s eyes widened ever so slightly, “Well, how else would you be Mrs. Weasley?”

“There’s more than one Weasley brother,” Hermione pointed out.

“Yeah, but they are all attached apart from…” Daphne trailed off momentarily.

“Charlie,” Hermione finished with a nod.

“You married Charlie Weasley?” Daphne asked in disbelief, “As in my _ex_ Charlie?”

Hermione frowned slightly, Charlie had said they hadn’t “dated” per say, “Uh, well we don’t exactly know each other very well Daphne, and I didn’t know he had dated you until he told me.”

“Was that before or after you married him?” Daphne asked sarcastically, but a little bitterly.

“After,” Hermione said honestly.

Daphne sighed, “Well good luck to you. That man is terrified of commitment, but the sex was great. Don’t you think, Granger?”

Hermione’s cheeks flushed and she was saved by the opening of the door. It didn’t help when the person who walked through it was Charlie.

“Well,” he said in amusement, “I’ve only ever seen you two together in my fantasies.”

Daphne sniggered and Hermione threw a quill at him half-heartedly, “I’m working, what are you doing here?”

“Relaying very important news,” Charlie said matter of factly, “Which is actually about your work, I swear.”

Hermione raised an eyebrow at him, “Go on.”

“The dragons are coming back on-”

“Monday, I know, and they want me to go over and supervise,” Hermione said with a nod, “Catch up Charlie.”

Charlie smirked, “Well, Browning needs your decision, so are you going?”

“When is our dinner with my parents?” Hermione asked, glancing at her calendar.

“Friday, and the Americans want us out there on Saturday afternoon, so you can’t escape it,” Charlie said with a grin.

Hermione rolled her eyes, “Fine, tell her I’ll be there.”

“Will do,” Charlie said as he walked towards the door, “It was good to see you again Daphne,” he remarked, turning to Hermione just as he reached the door, “I’ll meet you at the house when you get off work Hermione? Harry and Ron are helping install the floo today.”

Hermione smiled and nodded, “See you later Charlie,” she said as he walked out of the office and shut the door behind him.

Hermione turned to a bemused Daphne, “Sorry about the intrusion.”

“It’s my bad, I’m early,” Daphne said simply, “I take back my last comment, about him being scared of commitment.”

Hermione smiled slightly, “That’s alright. Shall we get on with this meeting then?”

***

When Hermione walked into the house she would be sharing with Charlie once it was finished, she smiled at the sound of chatter from the living room. She walked in and saw Charlie on his knees by the fireplace talking to someone through the floo, the room was still bare, with very little furniture so Hermione sat down against the wall and listened.

“So remember to feed Valerie twice a day since she will be laying her eggs soon. You know how much energy that will use up. Oh and do not forget to keep Eliza and Betsy away from each other, or they will rip each other’s eyes out. And remind Gale to do his perimeter walk every Monday and Friday, not just when he feels like it.”

Hermione smiled, he was obviously talking to the new Head Keeper at the reserve. There was a pause, but she couldn’t hear what the new head was saying.

“I know you’re capable Robbie, but the are kind of my babies. I’ll miss them.”

Another pause and then, “I’ll come visit when I can. Anyway, I just have a couple more things to ask. Can you tell Johnny to keep an eye on Norberta because I’m pretty sure she’s coming down with something? And you had better keep your promise to look after my Ella, I hatched her after all, Robbie, and she’s an old dragon now.”

There was another pause, and then Charlie laughed, “I know, I’m probably more attached to the dragons than most humans, but that’s just because dragons can’t break your heart.”

Hermione frowned, she never knew why Charlie’s love life hadn’t been a success, she had just assumed that he had been unlucky.

“No, no…if I ever have kids I’ll love them more than dragons I promise,” Charlie said, “But I don’t know if I will. I think Hermione’s going to be more content raising dragons in the back garden than kids.”

Hermione’s frown deepened, she _did _want kids, she really did. But she was 23 years old, she just didn’t want them right now. It hadn’t really occurred to her that Charlie did, in a few months Charlie would be 32, as far as he was concerned his time was running out, she sighed, realising they would both have to compromise to reach a happy medium if they wanted this marriage to work.

“Yeah well, you never know. I bought a three bedroom house for a reason Robbie, I could have got a one bed flat for a quarter of the price,” Charlie said, a hint of amusement in his voice. It made Hermione’s heart beat faster, so he hadn’t been entirely honest about two things, Daphne and the house.

“I’ll drop by when I can to say goodbye to the dragons, and expect weekly floo calls, you know how attached I am,” Charlie said on a final note, “Good luck mate, and congratulations on the promotion.”

With that the green flames around the fire died out and it returned to its normal orange glow as Charlie pulled his head out of it and turned around, freezing when he saw Hermione sitting against the wall.

“Hermione,” he said, “I didn’t hear you come in.”

“I didn’t want to disturb you,” Hermione said quietly.

“How much did you hear?” Charlie asked weakly.

Hermione shrugged, “Enough.”

Charlie swallowed visibly, “Look, what I said about kids…and the house-”

“It’s not what you said Charlie,” Hermione said, “It’s the fact you didn’t discuss it with me, it’s the fact you weren’t honest.”

“I-”

“You weren’t Charlie! You told me you and Daphne didn’t date, but as far as she’s concerned you did! And now I’ve just found out you lied about only being able to get a three bedroom house!” Hermione snapped.

Charlie sighed heavily, “I’m sorry Hermione, I guess I just got used to the fact I’d never have kids. I’m nearly 32 now, and you’re only 23-”

“I want kids Charlie,” Hermione said softly, “I just thought we should give ourselves time before we discussed that. You know, wait until we’ve actually properly gotten married?”

Charlie nodded, his eyes lighting up slightly at Hermione’s words.

“But you did lie to me,” Hermione added.

“And I’m sorry,” Charlie said honestly, “With the house…it was because I didn’t think I could have that discussion with you, about kids.”

“And with Daphne?”

“She and I _did _date, but I didn’t want to tell you that because it’s kind of embarrassing,” Charlie admitted, his ears going red, “We met in Bulgaria when we were both out there working, and it lasted for about 4 months, but I only dated her because she reminded me of you, Hermione.”

Hermione’s eyes widened slightly, “Really?” she asked in disbelief.

Charlie nodded, ducking his head in embarrassment, “But it just wasn’t working out because she wasn’t you.”

Hermione smiled slightly, “In a creepy, stalker kind of way, that’s almost sweet.”

Charlie grinned and Hermione then asked, “Charlie, do you mind if I ask you something personal?”

Charlie shook his head, looking at her inquisitively, “No, go ahead.”

“Did you have a heart break?” Hermione asked, chewing her lip, “Is that why you’ve never had much luck with women?”

Charlie smiled ruefully, “Dora Tonks, she broke my heart, if you must know.”

“Oh,” Hermione said in surprise.

Charlie sat down next to Hermione against the wall, he smiled slightly as he looked at her, “We dated in our 6th and 7th year at Hogwarts and when I graduated I had a couple of career options. Play Quidditch for the Chudley Cannons, or go to Romania. I chose Romania, because I knew I wanted to work with dragons, Dora said she would come with me but,” he paused and sighed, “But she agreed to follow me over and she never showed, she got scared, and broke up with me in a letter.”

Hermione was surprised, “Wow, I always liked Tonks, but I never knew that.”

Charlie shrugged, “It’s in the past. We moved on, I stayed in Romania, and she got married and had a baby before she…”

He trailed off, and Hermione nodded her understanding. She took Charlie’s hand in hers and intertwined their fingers as she turned to look at him.

“So what do you want first, dragons or kids?”

Charlie chuckled, “Honestly?”

Hermione nodded, “We _are _married Charlie,” she pointed out.

Charlie smiled, “As much as I love dragons, I’ve spent the last 11 years working with them. I really do want kids.”

Hermione nodded her understanding, “Then we’ll make sure we have them, just not right now.”

Charlie smiled as he leant across and kissed her, “Thank you,” he whispered.

***

The court case on Friday went as well as it could. The case was open and shut, and within the hour the two dragon-nappers had been apprehended and sentenced appropriately. Hermione left the court room in a good mood and retreated to her office where her mood instantly declined.

“Ready for our dinner?”

Hermione groaned.

“Wow, that excited?” Charlie asked with a grin.

“I can’t _wait _to tell my parents that I accidentally married someway I barely know in Las Vegas,” Hermione said dryly.

“How do you think I feel?” Charlie asked weakly, “At least you knew my family, you’d even lived with us. I’ve never met yours, and I’m not very good at talking to Muggles and-”

Hermione smiled, “Charlie, you’re babbling,” she said affectionately,

“I’m not babbling, I’m just a little anxious because I’ve never-”

Hermione silenced Charlie with a kiss, “Stop freaking out,” she whispered.

Charlie smiled sheepishly, “I’m just a little nervous.”

“I couldn’t tell,” She remarked sarcastically as she transfigured her work clothes into jeans and a top, and changed Charlie’s robes into something more Muggle. Their marriage had hit the papers on Thursday morning and was common knowledge now, so without a care of who might see them Hermione and Charlie left the Ministry hand in hand, ignoring the looks, glares and jibes.

Once they were in London they ducked into a deserted alley and apparated to a spot nearby Hermione’s parents’ house. Still hand-in-hand they walked together to the door, and Charlie’s hand started to sweat. Hermione shot him a comforting smile as she walked in and called out to her parents.

They walked out from the living room with smiles as they embraced their daughter, “So this must be Charlie?” Hermione’s Dad said.

“This is him,” Hermione said happily, “Charlie, this is my Dad John, and my Mum, Elizabeth.”

Charlie smiled as he shook their hands, “Hi there, pleasure to meet you both. Hermione has told me so much about you.”

That last part was such a blatant lie, but thankfully only Hermione saw it, and she hid her smirk.

They ushered them in and sat them down on the sofa and fixed them with a glass of wine each. Hermione’s Mum smiled, “I must say Charlie, I was surprised when Hermione told me about her new boyfriend. She hadn’t mentioned you much in her letters since the summer before her 4th year.”

Hermione blushed, and Charlie smiled, “Well, we dropped out of contact for a few years unfortunately because I was living in Romania.”

“I am sure you remember Mum, Charlie is one of Ron’s brothers,” Hermione said.

Elizabeth Granger nodded, “Yes dear, I remember you telling me that,” she said with a smile.

“What do you do out in Romania, Charlie?” John asked curiously.

“Well I’ve just resigned,” Charlie admitted, glancing at Hermione, “But I was a…um.”

Hermione smiled and nodded her permission, “Charlie was a dragon tamer, Dad.”

“Wow,” John said, leaning forward eagerly, “That’s amazing, of all the stories of your world that Hermione brought back, those about dragons interested me the most.”

Charlie smiled, and Elizabeth nodded weakly.

“So what did that entail?” John asked.

“Just keeping the protected species under control, breeding them, caring for them, keeping them on a reserve for their safety,” Charlie explained.

“Amazing,” John said.

“And what are you doing now that you have resigned?” Elizabeth asked.

“I’m teaching,” Charlie said, “At Hogwarts.”

“He’s the new Care of Magical Creatures Professor, Mum,” Hermione said proudly.

John nodded with a smile, “Well, that makes sense.”

“Surely you don’t have dragons on the school premises, Hermione?” Elizabeth said faintly.

“Only non-lethal ones,” Hermione said gently, “They aren’t poisonous and they are too small to do much damage apart from to cats, dogs and occasionally deer.”

“Lovely,” Elizabeth murmured under her breath.

“So, if I may ask, how did you two rekindle?” She then asked.

“A business trip to America,” Hermione said honestly, “We were working together to bring back two Welsh Greens that had been taken from Britain.”

“Welsh Greens?” John asked, “Are those dragons?”

Hermione nodded, “Native to the UK, they are relatively harmless unless threatened. We go back to the States on Monday to bring them home.”

“You are both very brave, working with such dangerous animals,” Elizabeth said.

“Well Charlie has worked with them for years,” Hermione said with a smile, “So it’s nothing new for him, and I mostly deal with the politics in cases like that one anyway, so I don’t have much contact with the dragons.”

“Out of interest Charlie, how old are you?” Elizabeth asked.

“Mum!” Hermione hissed.

Charlie smiled and said, “It’s okay. I’m 31 Mrs. Granger, so there is quite an age gap between Hermione and I.”

“Oh, that’s interesting,” Elizabeth said with a smile.

Hermione bit her lip, it was time to get to the point, “Mum, the reason I arranged this dinner tonight was to tell you and Dad something about Charlie and I.”

“What’s that sweetheart?” John asked.

“When we met in Las Vegas, we…we accidentally got married,” Hermione blurted out.

Her parents were both silent for a moment, and then her Mum squeaked, “Married?”

Her Dad was more rational, “Well darling, can’t you just get an annulment or a divorce?”

Hermione’s cheeks flushed as she said, “An annulment is out of the question Dad, and divorce doesn’t exist in the wizarding world. The marriage was through a blood vow, which literally lasts until one of us dies.”

“Oh, I see,” John said, “So what do you intend to do?”

“Well, despite what happened, we do want to make things work,” Hermione said, holding up her left hand, “So Charlie proposed, and we are going to get married properly.”

“Oh my goodness, Hermione!” Her Mum said, “All of this is happening so fast…there can only be one…” she gasped.

“Mum, what is it?” Hermione asked, partly concerned and partly exasperated.

“You’re pregnant Hermione, aren’t you?”

“What?” Hermione asked sharply, “God no, Mum! We’ve only been married for a week!”

***

“Can you _believe _she said that?” Hermione hissed as she and Charlie walked up the garden path towards the burrow. It was well and truly dark now.

“Hermione, it’s not that bad-”

“Shut up Charlie!” Hermione snapped, “I can’t believe she said that to me, my own bloody Mother!”

“Hermione, you really need to calm down,” Charlie said, “I’m sure she was just doing what-”

“She wasn’t doing what she thought was best, she was being a judgmental - ugh!” Hermione exclaimed, opening the backdoor to the burrow and storming in.

“Hermione!” Charlie said in frustration as he shut the door behind her.

“Charlie, stop taking their side! Why would she think that? She _always _said I was too good to be true and that I would go off the rails, she could never just accept that I wouldn’t, could she?” Hermione raged.

“You kind of did go off the rails though-”

“Shut up Charlie, that is not helpful!” Hermione said, storming out of the kitchen and upstairs.

Charlie stared after her, his arms raised in exasperation. He turned to the dining room where his parents, Bill, George, Ron and Ginny were all watching with some amusement.

“What was that about?” Ron asked.

“We just told Hermione’s parents about the fact we’re married, and getting married properly,” Charlie said, dropping down in an empty seat at the end of the table, “And Hermione’s Mum thought she was pregnant.”

“Well, that is understandable given the speed things have happened at,” Molly said reasonably.

“I know, that’s what I was trying to get into her head,” Charlie said, “But her Mum then defended herself by saying that Hermione had gained weight.”

Ginny snorted, “She has not! I’ll go and talk to her Charlie.”

“Thanks Gin,” Charlie said, helping himself to some pumpkin juice, “Merlin, Hermione’s Mum has a temper, I can see where she gets it from.”

Bill sniggered, “I thought husbands were supposed to worry about the Dads.”

“Well her Dad is pretty cool,” Charlie said, “He loves dragons, and it turns out Hermione’s Mum is quite a hypocrite. She and Hermione’s Dad were at Muggle University together and she was the perfect student who eloped with the bad boy, motorcyclist in leather pants,” he said with a grin.

Bill chuckled and said, “Sounds familiar.”

“You’re not that cool Bill,” Charlie remarked, grabbing a chicken leg from the table, “I better go tell my wife she doesn’t look fat or pregnant.”

Molly chuckled, “Be careful what you say. Women have a way of twisting men’s words when it comes to things like that.”

At these words Arthur nodded fervently behind his wife’s back which made the others snigger. Charlie was still chuckling as he ascended the stairs and slipped into Ginny’s room where Hermione was still ranting about her Mother.

“Ginny, do you think I have gained weight?” she asked, slightly teary, “Because I suppose I _have _been more stressed recently but then again I don’t really have time to eat and my Mum is just so stick thin, and it’s just _not _fair.”

“Hermione, you really haven’t gained weight,” Ginny said gently, glancing at Charlie as he leaned in the doorway, “You look great, I promise.”

Charlie grinned, “Yeah Hermione, I agree and I’ve seen you naked.”

Hermione didn’t even blush, she only chuckled. Ginny however made a face, “Ugh, Charlie! I do not want to think about my _brother _and my _sister-in-law _having sex!”

“Hey, it cheered her up,” Charlie said with a smile as he walked towards his wife, “Thanks Gin,” he whispered to her as he walked past.

Ginny only smiled as she walked out the room with the parting comment, “You better not have sex in my bed!”

Charlie laughed and turned to Hermione, “Cheer up Hermione, your Mum is a hypocrite, even your Dad said so.”

Hermione smiled and nodded, “I’ve always been closer to my Dad than my Mum,” she admitted.

“I imagine it was hard, living in a world they couldn’t ever really know about,” Charlie said.

Hermione nodded, “It’s why I love it here, you’re all like family…well apart from you Charlie, you’ve never felt like family.”

“I gathered from what your Dad said about the letters you sent to them the summer before your 4th year,” Charlie said with a grin as he pulled her to his feet.

Hermione blushed, “I was 13 years old, it was a crush, are you ever going to let me live it down?”

In a way that reminded her very much of Fred, but not necessarily in a bad way, Charlie grinned and said, “Never!”


	6. The Dragon Attack

In one week a lot had changed. Hermione knew that subconsciously but it didn’t really hit her until she walked into the meeting room where she had seen Charlie for the first time in a year. The last time she had walked in here, she had been single, and now she was walking in with her Husband.

For the most part, the same people sat around the table but the Head Auror was gone now.

The Head of the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, Marshall, smiled at them, “I hear congratulations are in order.”

Hermione nodded, a small smile coming to her lips, and Charlie said, “It’s been one hectic week.”

Marshall laughed, but Browning shot them a glare which they both ignored, “Take a seat,” Marshall said, and they both did.

“How was your journey?”

“Good, thank you,” Hermione said politely.

“Although the return journey with the dragons will be interesting,” Charlie chipped in.

Hermione nodded her agreement, “We thought a specially designed portkey would be the best option. Obviously, Charlie will have to transport the dragons, as only a trained professional can hope to keep them under control in those circumstances.”

The others nodded, and there was some more small talk before they all set out for the reservation on the outskirts of the city. They apparated there, meeting up by the gates where two sizeable Welsh greens were contained in cages.

“They look calm,” Charlie said as he threw the dragons some treats through the bars, “That’s a good sign.”

“Is there anything else you need us for, or can we take the dragons back to Britain?” Hermione asked Marshall and Browning.

“You are cleared to take them back,” Browning said, “Thank you for your help.”

Marshall nodded, “And I am sorry to hear of you declining my job offer, but I understand why you did,” he shot a glance towards Charlie and Hermione smiled, “Thank you so much for the job offer, it was an honour to even have it offered to me.”

Marshall nodded and said, “Good luck, do make sure to floo us to let us know that you got yourselves, and the dragons, back to Britain safely.”

“Rest assured, I will do so as soon as I get the chance,” Hermione promised, shaking both his hand and Browning’s. The two Americans then left, leaving only Hermione and Charlie with the two caged dragons.

Hermione looked hesitantly at Charlie, “I’ll go back through customs and meet you at the rendezvous point in the Forest of Dean?”

Charlie nodded, “There’s no need to look so worried, Hermione.”

“It’s dangerous Charlie,” Hermione whispered as she walked closer to him.

Charlie smiled and took her hand, “It’s nothing worse than what I did every day in Romania,” he told her.

Hermione nodded, “I know,” she said quietly.

They looked at each other for a moment and then Hermione threw herself at Charlie, kissing him hard on the lips. His mouth fell open slightly in surprise which Hermione took advantage of, deepening the kiss. Charlie returned it, with just as much passion and fervor. Every nerve in Hermione’s body tingled in a way that it hadn’t done with anyone else.

When she pulled back, Charlie grinned, “If being in dangerous situations means I get kisses like that, I think I should be in them more often.”

Hermione shook her head and said, “Just get back safely okay? And we will meet at the rendezvous point.”

Charlie nodded, then after a brief kiss he walked toward the dragons, and Hermione backed away far enough to apparate. As she took one last glance at Charlie, Hermione knew something bad was going to happen, she had a horribly tight feeling in her gut and a feeling of discomfort that she just could not shake off.

***

Things were planned out perfectly so that Charlie and Hermione would get to the rendezvous point around the same time, if their timing worked out. Charlie couldn’t just portkey straight from Las Vegas to Britain, he had to do it in a series of leaps. The first was from Las Vegas to the West Coast of America. The second was from America to a small deserted island in the middle of the Atlantic, and the third was from that small island to the Isle of Man. His final leap would be from there to the forest of dean.

Hermione’s trip through customs went without a hitch, she didn’t even have to wait in line for very long. Once she was back in the UK she apparated to the outskirts of the Forest of Dean and made her way in, the actual rendezvous point was unplottable to protect the dragons so she could not apparate to it.

She still had that unsettled feeling in her stomach as she walked through the familiar forest and her heart dropped when she heard the first signs of something going amiss in the distance. She felt heat emanating from the heart of the forest, and heard a roar followed by a shout of pain.

Before she knew what she was doing Hermione was running towards the sounds, towards Charlie, and when she arrived at the rendezvous point, gasping for breath she could not believe the sight before her. The trees in the clearing were all alight, and one of the dragons had gotten free from its cage, it was stomping around viciously. Welsh Greens were not violent, but it was feeling threatened and afraid because of the travelling.

The worst thing about the scene before Hermione’s eyes was Charlie’s part in it. He lay in the middle of the clearing barely conscious, his wand lying by his side and his blood seeping into the damp earth, staining it a rotten, dark colour.

Hermione had long ago learned not to panic in situations like this. Or more to the point, to push down her fear and instead do what had to be done. It probably had something to do with growing up in a warzone. Trying not to think about Charlie and how badly injured he was, Hermione forced the dragon back into its cage and set up a protective ward around both of the cages, to stop the dragons hurting themselves or anyone else. A quick charm doused the forest and another cleared it of the smoke. Hermione was still coughing as she rushed to Charlie’s side and fell to her knees in the damp ground which was a mixture of the water from her charm, and Charlie’s blood.

“Charlie,” she said in a broken whisper.

Charlie looked at Hermione through heavily lidded eyes, he opened his mouth and his lips formed her name but no sound came out. She knew basic healing, and she had to act fast if she had any chance of saving Charlie’s life. By the time she got him to St. Mungo’s it would be too late.

She ripped off his torn shirt and looked at the extent of his injuries. His entire left arm was covered in an angry blistering burn which was easily sorted with a cooling charm, but that was the least of Hermione’s worries. There were other burns, not quite as large across his chest, and a gash that seemed to be as deep as the bone down the right side of his face where one of the dragon’s claws had clearly caught him. It was bleeding heavily, so much that his face was almost entirely covered in blood. Hermione did what she could to seal it temporarily and then turned Charlie over, gasping at the extent of the injuries on his back. It seemed all of the dragons claws had caught him, and his gashes were deep and seeping. He would bleed out soon, and all Hermione could do was slow it down.

She was breathing heavily, her heart pounding, as she apparated them both to the emergency wards of St. Mungo’s. The moment they arrived healers rushed to them and took Charlie into a room, Hermione followed them, and wasn’t questioned.

“What happened?” One of them asked.

“He was attacked by a dragon,” Hermione said weakly, her hands and her whole body shaking.

“Do you know the species?” The Healer asked gently.

“A…a Welsh G…Green,” Hermione stuttered.

“Are you this man’s wife ma’am?” she asked.

Hermione could only nod as healers bustled around Charlie shouting things anxiously.

“Can you tell me his name?”

“Charles Weasley,” Hermione said, “Is he going to be okay?”

“We’ll do everything we can,” The healer said evasively as Charlie stopped breathing.

“Code blue!” The lead healer shouted, and all of a sudden they were pressing down on his chest and performing all sorts of complicated charms and Hermione was falling apart, “Charlie!” she cried.

“You can’t be in here Mrs. Weasley,” The healer said, beginning to push Hermione towards the door.

“No, he’s my Husband, I have every right to stay!” Hermione objected.

“We will do what we can for him, but right now yo are in the way Mrs. Weasley,” The Healer said as she pulled Hermione through a door into a whitewashed waiting room full of people looking as desperate as her.

The last thing Hermione saw as the doors shut was Charlie urgently being wheeled away in a hospital bed. She was forced into a plastic seat by the healer who asked, “Is there any family we should inform?”

“His parents,” Hermione gasped, “Molly and Arthur Weasley.”

The Healer nodded and said, “Stay here Mrs. Weasley, and we will update you on your husband’s progress.”

With that she walked away, and Hermione let her head fall into her hands in despair. Her world was literally crumbling around her right now. She couldn’t lose Charlie, not so soon after finding him, things had been going from good to great, and now she was faced with the possibility that she might never see him again. Hermione had barely recovered from losing Fred, she wasn’t sure how she had pulled through that whole ordeal, but she knew that another scenario like that would break her.

Hermione was shaking in fear, and shock, as tears poured from her eyes and slid down her face.

“Hermione!”

A familiar pair of arms wrapped around her from her right, and another familiar set of arms did the same from her left. Without looking at them she knew it was Harry and Ron.

“We came as soon as the Healer floo-ed,” Harry said, and Hermione looked up to see a very pale faced Molly walking towards them. With her was Arthur who looked like he was barely holding himself together, they couldn’t lose another child, not after all they had been through with Bill and Fred.

“I’ve sent patronuses to the others,” Molly said breathlessly, “They are on the way. What happened Hermione?”

Hermione felt guilty as she looked at the woman who was now her Mother-in-law, she opened her mouth a few times but no words came out so she just shook her head.

“She’s in shock,” Ron said.

“He was attacked,” Hermione whispered, “One of the dragons got loose and I ran to him but I was too late and it had…he was…” she gasped as she tried to get air into her lungs, “He was covered in blood…there was so much blood.”

“Shh, Hermione,” Harry soothed, stroking her hair, “He’ll be okay, he’s a fighter.”

Molly was in tears, and Arthur was trying to hold it together for everyone else. Ron was as white as a ghost, and even Harry looked unsettled. They waited in silence, Hermione sobbing quietly into Harry’s shoulder as the rest of the family arrived. First Ginny rushed into the waiting room, still dressed in her Holyhead Harpies gear, she had obviously come straight from practice. She was out of breath as she approached them, “What happened?” she asked, looking slightly green.

“Dragon attack,” Was all Arthur could choke out.

Ginny didn’t say another word as she went to her Mother and enveloped her in a hug that she didn’t come out of. Next to arrive was Percy whose hair and robes were covered in ash from his hurried journey through the floo, he rushed over to his family and was informed of the dragon attack. As pale as the others he took a seat next to Ron silently.

George followed, looking as bad, if not worse than the others as he walked briskly over to his family, “What happened to Charlie?” he asked quietly.

“Dragon attack,” Ginny whispered, “It’s touch and go.”

George swallowed visibly and sat down next to Percy, wrapping his arm around his older brother. They were all thinking the same thing, it was like Fred all over again, but they were being held in suspension this time, it wasn’t instant.

The last member of the family to arrive was Bill, but he looked the worst. All the colour had drained from his face, and it was apparent he had come straight from work. He kept his eyes down as he approached his family and then his eyes scanned the people in the waiting room.

“Charlie?” He asked in a choked voice.

Molly could only nod and Bill looked like he would throw up as he began to pace the floor of the waiting room.

“What the hell happened?” Bill asked in an angry whisper, “It was supposed to be a _simple _transportation of a couple of Welsh Greens! He’s been around them for years!”

His eyes were on Hermione, and they were suspicious, “What happened Hermione?”

“She doesn’t know,” Harry said with a slight glare, “Can’t you see the state she’s in? If it wasn’t for Hermione’s healing skills Charlie would never have made it to St. Mungo’s.”

“How do you know?” Bill asked.

“Because I saw him being wheeled away,” Harry said, “And his injuries are bad but the blood flow didn’t seem to be as fast as it should have been. I think Hermione stemmed it.”

Hermione nodded, “I…I sealed what I could and cooled the burns…but the cuts were so deep Harry…and there was so much blood.”

“I know Hermione,” Harry said in a gentle voice as he drew Hermione near to him and shot Bill a glare that said ‘Don’t blame her’.

Bill sank down to sit against the wall with his head in his hands, he muttered something that was intelligible, but the others knew why he was taking this the worst. Bill and Charlie were close because they were the oldest and there was only a two year age gap between them, Charlie had even been the best man at Bills wedding.

Ginny removed herself from her Mothers embrace and walked over to her oldest brother, sitting down next to him on the cold floor and leaning on his shoulder, mumbling something that seemed to put him at ease a little. Ginny had a way of calming the others down and staying strong for them, even though she was the youngest.

Hermione was sure she heard Bill mutter, “This should be the other way around, Gin.”

The waiting room fell into complete silence as the family waited. There was nothing more they could do but _wait _and that was hell, it was agony.

A healer walked past and didn’t acknowledge them, Hermione got to her feet and asked him politely if he could tell her anything about her Husband. The man sighed, as if this was a chore and not his _job_.

“We have many patients ma’am, we can’t give their families updates on all of them,” He said in a polite tone of voice that was blatantly fake.

Hermione lost her temper then, and she was glad that the Weasley’s and Harry were the only people left in the fairly small waiting room to hear it.

“Do you know who I am?” Hermione hissed, “I’m Hermione Granger, and I’m one of the three people who saved you, and everybody else in this hospital from Voldemort! If it wasn’t for me none of you would be here, and if you do not tell me _right now _how my husband is I will personally destroy your life in every single wizarding tabloid, I am a politician, _sir_.”

The healers face paled and he nodded, visibly swallowing, “I’ll do my best to get you that update right away,” he said, rushing from the room.

Hermione turned around and was met by surprised faces from almost all of the Weasley’s. All except, Harry, Ron and Ginny.

Bill pushed himself to his feet and walked the short distance to Hermione, he embraced her and said, “At first I wasn’t sure of you and Charlie, but you’re definitely more than good enough for my little brother, Hermione.”

Hermione just gave him a nod and began to walk back and forth, waiting for that crucial update. She couldn’t lose Charlie, losing him just wasn’t an option. It seemed to take forever for the healer to come back, looking just as terrified as he approached Hermione.

“Mr. Weasley is still being treated, but he seems to be out of the danger zone. A Healer will inform you when he has been moved to the recovery ward.”

Hermione nodded, “Thank you,” she said, her voice no longer as strong as it had been when she had first spoken to him, or rather intimidated him.

“He’ll be okay,” Hermione whispered, letting her head fall into her hands. Ron shifted next to her and Bill took his place, wrapping his arm around Hermione, “He’s going to be fine,” he said, more to convince himself than Hermione, but she appreciated it all the same.

The mood of the rest of the family changed, and their faces began to get some colour again, but nobody left. They all stayed right where they were in the waiting room. Fleur was watching Victoire and Dominique, and Audrey was watching Molly, just as Angelina was with Fred. They were a close family, they always had been and their wives understood that. You couldn’t marry into the Weasley family and not accept the unique bond they shared, not a single sibling would leave this hospital until they had seen Charlie alive and well.

Hermione respected their bond and their closeness, in a way she had always been jealous of it since she was an only child. She had never experienced anything like it, and it always amazed her. They seemed to be waiting for hours before a female healer walked towards them, wearing a genuine, kind smile.

“Mrs. Weasley?”

Hermione and Molly both looked up at the same time, and this made George chuckle. The Healer looked to Hermione, “Your Husband is in the recovery ward Mrs. Weasley,” she said, “He has been placed in a medical coma to help his body heal his injuries but you can see him if you like?”

Hermione nodded wordlessly and followed the healer, the whole Weasley clan were right behind her. It felt wrong, that she was the one given the first chance to see him, she knew she was his wife but she didn’t feel like she deserved that honour yet. All the same Hermione couldn’t help but rush to Charlie’s side the moment she walked into his hospital room. He was lying on the bed, the entire right side of his face bandaged up, so much so that it covered his eye. His arms and torso were also bandaged, and it seemed that his back was too.

He was asleep, and there was some colour in his cheeks which made Hermione feel a little better, “Charlie,” she whispered, sitting down next to his body and taking his rough, calloused hand in hers as she drank in the sight of him, _he was alive_, and no other thoughts could process through her head but that.

The healer told them how Charlie was and Hermione tried her best to listen. They had stopped the bleeding and closed the wounds, but he would be unconscious for 48 hours while his body healed, and he would be left with scars on his face and back. The burns would remain, a faint pink instead of an angry red, but he was alive and he was going to be alright.

Shortly after telling them this the healer left and the Weasley’s conjured up chairs, getting comfortable for a long stay. As far as they were concerned everything else could wait until Charlie woke up. Bill pulled up a seat next to Hermione by Charlie’s bed and Ginny and George sat together on one of the rooms two sofas, while Molly and Arthur sat in the other. Percy, Ron and Harry were in armchairs, conversing quietly.

While they sat together, Hermione watching Charlie, and Bill with his head leaning against the edge of the bed, they did not say a word to each other. Not until after 3am in the morning when the rest of the family had fallen asleep.

“I’m sorry for losing my temper with you earlier,” Bill said quietly.

Hermione shook her head, “He’s your brother, you were upset.”

Bill shrugged, “That’s no excuse for the fact I blamed you, when it was thanks to you that he is even alive,” his voice caught slightly.

“I didn’t know that you two were so close,” Hermione admitted.

Bill nodded, his eyes flicking to Charlie, “It sounds like a cliché, but hes not just my brother, he’s my best friend.”

Hermione smiled slightly, “I remember how terrified I was of anything happening to Ron or Harry, and I’m not related to them.”

“Charlie and I have always looked out for each other,” Bill said with a slight smile, “I carried him back to the house when he fell off his broom as a kid and broke his ankle. Then he repaid the favour by punching a guy in the face when he tried to pick a fight with me…he was a 2nd year, protecting his brother who was in 4th year.”

Hermione smiled, “That sounds like him,” she said.

Bill nodded, also smiling, “He was always looking out for us, for all of us, even me, and I’m older than him.”

“He’s like a mother dragon,” Hermione said with a grin.

Bill laughed quietly so as not to waken the others, “That’s a brilliant analogy Hermione.”

Hermione chuckled, her hand was still in Charlie’s. Bill sighed, “I guess, the reason I reacted so badly earlier was because it was my turn to protect him, and I didn’t.”

“You can’t be there all of the time,” Hermione said gently, “And Charlie wasn’t there when Greyback…” she trailed off but Bill understood.

They were silent for a moment, and then Bill said, “That’s why Charlie isn’t as close with Ron as the others, he always did everything he could to protect us and he resents Ron for leaving you and Harry the way he did in the war.”

Hermione frowned, “Why? It had nothing to do with him.”

“Well, he had feelings for you,” Bill said with a smirk, “So it sort of did, but that wasn’t the main reason. He just couldn’t stand the fact that Ron had left two people he supposedly loved when they needed protection.”

“It’s one of Charlies best qualities, protecting those he loves,” Hermione said in a scared whisper, “But I’m also terrified that it’s going to get him killed one day.”

“Me too, Hermione,” Bill admitted, “But hopefully not now that he has you. That gives him a more stable, less dangerous job.”

Hermione just nodded, grasping Charlie’s hand tighter.

***

When Hermione woke up, it was bright outside and the Weasley’s were all awake and talking in undertones. She yawned and stretched, taking her hand out of Charlie’s for the first time in hours.

“What time is it?” She asked, gratefully accepting the sandwich that Harry threw at her.

“Just gone one,” Harry said, “You looked knackered so we let you sleep.”

Hermione smiled, “Thanks, how is he?”

“No change, he should wake up sometime late tonight or early tomorrow,” Bill said, “But the healers say his stats are good.”

“Good,” Hermione said in relief, “What about the bandages?”

They all avoided her gaze, everyone apart from Harry and Bill.

“They will get removed properly in a week,” Harry said.

“What is it?” Hermione asked anxiously.

“We saw his face, when they changed the bandages this morning,” Bill said.

“It’s bad Hermione,” Harry added.

Hermione laughed at the idiocy of it all, “And you really think I care?” she asked in disbelief, “I don’t care how he looks, as long as hes the same Charlie.”

“You and Fleur ought to get along better than you do,” Bill remarked with an almost proud smile.

Hermione managed a weak smile as she tried to eat at least half of her sandwich, she knew that she needed to eat something if she could. The others were good, they helped her pass the time by playing games with her like chess and gobstones, and in Percy’s case by engaging her in a long conversation about the merits of the new legal system regarding magical creatures. They tried to stay awake as the night went on, but midnight came and went and Charlie still wasn’t awake.

By the time he started to stir it was nearly 4am, and Hermione was the only one awake. She was fairly sure Bill was asleep as he didn’t move when Charlie mumbled something. Hermione whispered a charm to wet his throat and he sighed in relief, “Hermione?”

“I’m here,” Hermione said quietly, her hand still in his.

Charlie opened his eyes groggily and Hermione had never been so glad to see those vivid blue eyes, she couldn’t help herself as she softly kissed him, “You were right,” he said.

“About what?” Hermione asked.

“You knew something bad was going to happen, you could tell,” Charlie said.

Hermione nodded, her eyes welling up, “How do you feel?”

“Sore,” Charlie said honestly, “And…why can’t I see out of one eye?”

“Because a bandage is covering it,” Hermione said gently, “But your eyesight will be fine again once it has been removed. Do you remember what happened, Charlie?”

Charlie moved his head in a miniscule movement that Hermione understood as a nod, “One of the dragons got out while I had my back turned, it got me and as I turned around it burned me and I think…it got me in the face.”

Hermione nodded.

“Is it bad?” Charlie asked.

“I don’t know,” Hermione said honestly, “I’ve not seen it, and I don’t care either.”

Charlie gave her a lopsided smile, “You’re sweet Hermione.”

“And you are lucky to be alive,” Hermione said, resting her forehead against his cheek, “Merlin Charlie, I don’t think I’ve ever…I was a mess.”

“As much as I hate to hear that,” Charlie said, “It does make me feel good.”

“You obnoxious prat,” Hermione said fondly, unable to stop herself from smiling because he was alive and holding a perfectly normal conversation with her.

Charlie just gave her another lopsided smile and said, “I see the whole gang are here.”

Hermione nodded, “It’s 4am on Wednesday morning Charlie, and they have been here since Monday night.”

Charlie smiled, “We’re a loyal bunch.”

“You are, and we have already lost one member of our family,” Hermione whispered, “We couldn’t bear to lose another.”

“It wasn’t that bad, was it?” Charlie asked in surprise.

“You stopped breathing at one point Charlie,” Hermione said quietly.

Charlie’s one eye widened as Hermione kissed his cheek, “And before you say it, don’t apologise. We are all just glad that you’re okay. I couldn’t lose you Charlie.”

He must have seen the pure desperation in her eyes because he squeezed her hand tightly and said, “You won’t Hermione, I promise.”

***

“Ah, look who has decided to grace us with his presence.”

Charlie smiled with the one side of his mouth that wasn’t covered by the bandage, “I took my time, thought I’d keep you all in suspense.”

“We were a bit worried for a while there,” Bill said, patting Charlie on the leg.

George snorted, “A bit?” he asked, “You should have seen Bill, Charlie. He was in almost as bad a state as you were in when you found out about him being attacked by Greyback.”

Ron sniggered, “He was much worse than you Charlie.”

Bill rolled his eyes and said, “Rubbish, I wasn’t worried at all.”

“Give it up Bill,” Charlie said in amusement, “I know you worry about me.”

“Well, you _are _my little brother,” Bill said, after which he never got a chance to say anything else because his Mother and Father embraced Charlie and spent the next 10 minutes telling him how relieved they were that Hermione had brought him back to Britain and away from “that dangerous job” as Molly had said.

Hermione just sat back and let them all have their moment with him, he shot her amused glances and rolled his eyes at her when his Mother made a remark about how amazing Hermione was. She was happy knowing he was happy and well, and she didn’t need to fight his family for his attention.

Around midday his bandages got changed, and for the first time Hermione, and Charlie, saw the extent of his injuries. The wounds on his back would forever leave painful looking pink scars that would eventually become white, but the wounds on his face were the ones that Hermione was most scared to see.

It wasn’t actually as bad as Harry and Bill had implied however, because unlike Bills scars, they didn’t cover all of Charlie’s face. In actual fact Charlie only had one scar, stretching from just below his hairline to the middle of his neck, it was angry and red at the moment but it would die down and become a white line like those that covered Bills face.

“You always have to be like me Charlie-boy,” Bill remarked in an attempt to make light of the situation, “Ever since you were a kid you’ve been copying me.”

Charlie snorted, “Copying you? You wish Bill.”

Bill grinned. “Come on Char, I got a dangerous job working with evil curses, you got a dangerous job working with fire breathing bloody dragons. Then I settle down and marry someone 10 years younger than me _and you _marry someone 8 years younger than you. Then you go and get matching scars too.”

Charlie laughed, “Well, can’t argue with you when you put it that way Billy. I guess it’s a fight between Ron and Perce now as to who is the prettiest Weasley boy. We’re all cripples, what with your werewolf habits Bill, and your missing ear George.”

The others chuckled, appreciating the humor. Hermione just kissed Charlie on the lips properly while the bandages were removed and said, “I still think you’re the prettiest Charlie.”

Charlie grinned, only wincing slightly as this made the wound twinge, “And so you should,” he said.

She smiled softly, and sat with him as new bandages were put on. The others then bade him farewell and got back to their families, and their work, they could now that they knew he would be okay. Hermione had to go too, as much as she hated to leave Charlie. She needed to grovel to her boss about why she had missed work yesterday and today, and she was just praying that she didn’t get fired.

While Hermione was gone, Harry slipped into the hospital room where Charlie was reading a book in his bed, and smiled at his best friend’s husband.

“Oh, hey Harry,” Charlie said.

“Hi Charlie,” Harry said as he sat down by his bed.

“Whats up?” Charlie asked.

“I just wanted to talk to you, well tell you something, about Hermione,” Harry said honestly, “When you were out of it she used her status as a war hero to get you better treatment.”

Charlie frowned, “So?” he asked.

“So she’s only done that twice,” Harry said softly, “The first time was when I got hurt in my first big Auror mission, and the second time was with you.”

Charlie still didn’t entirely get it, so Harry continued, “In her second month working in the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, she got bitten by an Acromantula which gave her 24 hours until the poison killed her and she didn’t use her status to get faster treatment then Charlie. She doesn’t use it for herself, she only uses it to save the people she loves.”

Charlie’s one visible eye widened slightly as he finally cottoned on to what Harry was saying.

“I know it hasn’t been long,” Harry said, “And hell, I’m not even saying she loves you. What I am saying is that she is starting to, and when Hermione falls, she falls fast.”

Charlie was still speechless and Harry could only smile.

“Wow…I mean…I have felt it too around Hermione, it’s like a pull,” Charlie said, “And the closer I get to her never seems close enough. I didn’t want to say anything because I thought she might freak out.”

“Let her make the first move,” Harry warned Charlie, “Or she might freak out, but trust me here. Hermione and you…I’ve never seen her with anyone else the way she is with you, not even Fred.”

Charlie nodded, smiling as best he could, “Thanks Harry, I appreciate that.”

***

“Well, I’m _not _fired.”

Charlie grinned at Hermione as she walked into his hospital room, “That’s handy.”

Hermione shot him a grin as she sat down next to him, “I am however subject to a disciplinary hearing,” she rolled her eyes, “And yo will never guess what junior judge is heading it.”

“Oh,” Charlie said, pushing himself up slightly, “It’s Daphne, isn’t it?”

Hermione nodded, and Charlie laughed loudly, “Oh Merlin, she’s going to love that. Can I come along and watch?”

“If it wasn’t for the fact you nearly died the other day I would hit you right now,” Hermione said matter of factly.

Charlie sniggered, “I’ll take that as a no then.”

Hermione shook her head in amusement, “It’s a no, and I doubt it will come to anything anyway. I’m the junior head of department, they can’t just sack me off the cuff.”

“Not that your cocky or anything,” Charlie said.

“Oh shut up,” Hermione shot back at him affectionately.

“Whats in the bag?” Charlie asked, looking at the plastic bag she was holding.

“Well, I did bring you chocolate from honeydukes, but if you’re going to keep being such an obnoxious prat I’ll just keep it for myself,” Hermione said with a smirk.

Charlie smiled and grabbed her hand, “Thanks Hermione, for saving my life, and for making sure the dragons were safe.”

“You and your bloody dragons,” Hermione said in exasperation.

“Hey, love me, love my dragons,” Charlie remarked, not anticipating the consequences of the comment.

Hermione’s jaw tensed, and she caught Charlie’s eye.

“Sorry, I just meant-”

“I know what you meant,” Hermione said quietly, her hand slightly sweaty in Charlie’s, “And it panicked me because I’m quite guarded Charlie…but my walls don’t seem to exist around you.”

“What do you mean?” Charlie asked, absentmindedly moving his thumb across the palm of her hand.

Hermione looked down, “I mean…I…I think I’m falling in love with you Charlie.”

Charlie smiled slightly, “Only you could make that sound like a bad thing, Hermione.”

Despite her nerves, Hermione laughed weakly and said, “Well it’s bloody terrifying.”

“And incredibly controversial,” Charlie said sarcastically, “Imagine that, falling in love with your husband.”

Hermione grinned, “I’m pretty sure you’re supposed to fall in love and _then _get married,” she pointed out.

“Not if you’re a pureblood,” Charlie said in amusement, “Then you get married and learn to love your bitch of a wife, not that I’m referring to the Malfoys or anything.”

Hermione shook her head in amusement as she leaned forward and kissed him, “But I’m not a pureblood and you’re a blood traitor, so we are unconventional.”

“Where’s the fun in being conventional?” Charlie asked with a grin.

“It takes the spontaneity out of life,” Hermione agreed, her lips inches away from Charlie’s face.

He nodded very solemnly and she laughed as she kissed his mouth lightly.

“For the record Hermione, in case you didn’t notice,” Charlie said, “I am not falling in love with you, because I’m already bloody head over heels.”

Hermione smiled, blushing ever so slightly and not tearing her eyes away from Charlie’s. He was alive, and she was falling in love with him, and he was in love with her. They were going to get married properly, and they were going to move in together and raise kids and dragons, and even after all that had happened, in fact _because _of all that happened, Hermione couldn’t imagine anything more _perfect_.

***

Charlie had to spend one week in St. Mungo’s to recover. He got out on the 29th of August, and had to be at Hogwarts the night before the new term began on the 31st of August. With him being released at midday on the Wednesday, and having to leave around dinner time on Friday, Hermione couldn’t help but feel a little sad thinking of how little time they would have before they were separated. The first week of term was always busy, and that meant Charlie would have to stay the whole week, thankfully Hagrid had kept the gamekeeper job which meant he didn’t have to live on site.

“Hey.”

Charlie smiled up at Hermione as she walked into the room, “Are you here to release me?”

“Yep,” Hermione said as she put some clothes down on the end of the bed, “I’ve signed you out, and I’ve got your medical keep up forms.”

Charlie rolled his eyes as he pushed the cover aside and sat up in his hospital gown, “Medical keep up?”

“Just a charm that needs to be administered once a week to stop the cuts on your back and face from opening up again,” Hermione said, “And it’s simple so you don’t need to come in here, I can do it for you.”

Charlie sighed, perching on the edge of the bed, “Anything else?”

“No heavy lifting unless you want to rip open the cuts on your back,” Hermione said, “But you shouldn’t be doing too much heavy lifting in your first couple of weeks anyway, and if you do need to you can just ask Hagrid.”

“I don’t want to have to ask Hagrid!” Charlie snapped.

“But Charlie-”

“No, I’m not a cripple Hermione!”

Hermione opened her mouth to speak again but Charlie cut her off once more, “I’m perfectly capable!”

Charlie grabbed his wand violently and instantly changed himself into the clothes that Hermione had lay down on the bed, but he didn’t move, “I’m sorry,” he muttered.

“It’s okay,” Hermione said, sitting down next to him, “You’re right Charlie, you’re not a cripple. You are really lucky.”

Charlie shot her a confused glance and Hermione said, “It’s going to twinge for a month or so, but not forever. Soon it will just be a couple of scars that don’t cause you any pain. Fred didn’t have that option, and Bill is part werewolf, something he has to deal with every month. I know you feel angry and frustrated right now, but you just have to rest up and let your body heal or it _will_ be something that will change your life.”

Charlie’s eyes flicked downward guiltily, “You’re right,” he said, looking up at her with a smile, “I will rest, I promise, and the schedule doesn’t involve anything heavy, or dangerous, until the warmer weather kicks in.”

Hermione nodded, leaning over and kissing him lightly, “Come on Charlie, let’s get you home.”

His eyes lit up at the mention of home, and he got to his feet with a little bit of a grimace, “I thought it wasn’t finished yet.”

“It’s not,” Hermione said, “But I put some furniture in while you were in here, so we can at least live in it now.”

His smile widened, and Hermione could see it all now that his face wasn’t bandaged up. His hair covered the cut mostly, but Hermione didn’t care anyway. Regardless of how he looked he was still Charlie. They chattered as they left the hospital together, about Hermione’s work and what Charlie would be bringing to the schedule when he started his job at Hogwarts, and when they were outside the hospital, in a dark alley in Muggle London, they apparated home.

It didn’t look any different from the outside, but the second Charlie walked into the house he knew something had changed and he froze in surprise.

“Come on Charlie,” Hermione said, taking his hand and gently pulling him into the living room. His family all jumped out and shouted “Surprise!”

The room had been decorated, and was fully furnished. It looked like their home now, not just a shell. Charlie seemed completely speechless for a moment, his eyes wide in surprise.

“You did this?” He asked, his voice a little croaky.

“We all chipped in,” Ron said.

“But it was Hermione’s idea,” George said, winking at Hermione who grinned.

“Do you like it Charlie? The whole house is finished,” Hermione said, biting her lip.

Charlie turned to look at her, his face breaking out into a beam, “I love it,” he said, kissing her and taking her by surprise.

Her face was flushed when they broke apart, and she grabbed his hand, dragging him out into the corridor for the full grand tour. They all ate together after that, with a meal Molly had cooked up earlier and by the time everyone left, it was getting late and Charlie was clearly tired.

“Do you still like dragons Charlie?” Hermione asked him, as they sat together on the sofa.

Charlie frowned, “Why wouldn’t I?”

“After what that Welsh Green did to you,” Hermione said, her eyes flicking to the cut on his face.

Charlie shrugged, “I still like dragons, you can’t hate a species for the action of one creature.”

Hermione smiled slightly, “So what do you think of the idea of a small dragon enclosure?” she asked, “Just two or three pygmy dragons.”

Charlie chuckled, “Didn’t we agree kids then dragons?”

“Oh I know, but I really want a pygmy dragon,” Hermione said with a smile.

Charlie couldn’t help but smile back as he pulled her closer to him, “Alright, you win,” he said, “We’ll get two, but they might mate.”

“Oooh, baby dragons!” Hermione said excitedly.

Charlie grinned, “You’re perfect Hermione,” he said as he kissed her and pushed himself to his feet.

Hermione smiled, “I know,” she joked, “Are you going to bed?”

Charlie nodded, “You coming?”

Hermione followed him wordlessly upstairs to their newly decorated bedroom, which was blue with a picture of Ella, his favourite dragon on the wall.

“Let me help you,” Hermione said, lifting his shirt off and tracing her finger lightly down the cuts on his back. They weren’t angry anymore, just a faint pink.

“Do they hurt?” Hermione asked.

“No,” Charlie said honestly as he turned around and pulled Hermione in closer, “They only twinge every so often.”

“Mhmm,” Hermione hummed as Charlie kissed her and pulled her back so they fell softly onto the bed together, with Hermione now straddling Charlie.

“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” He asked her with that cheeky, mischievous glint in his eyes that she loved.

“Oh I doubt it,” Hermione said.

“Why?” Charlie asked as he kissed her neck, “What are you thinking?”

“I’m thinking the healers said no strenuous activity for at least a week,” Hermione remarked with a smirk.

Charlie groaned, “You’re right, I _wasn’t _thinking that.”

Hermione chuckled as Charlie kissed her once more, mumbling, “You have amazing self-control, Hermione, I hate it.”

Hermione broke away from his lips and smiled at him, “It’s a curse Charlie.”

Charlie nodded with an air of seriousness about him, “It really is Hermione, because I start my new job on Friday, and after that you won’t see me till the following Monday.”

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him, “You’re making my self-control crumble Charlie.”

“That’s kind of the point,” Charlie grinned.

“But your-”

“But, nothing,” Charlie said, flipping them over and pinning her down, “I’m fine Hermione, and I’ve been stuck in a hospital with nothing to do but fantasize for the past week.”

“What were you fantasizing about?” Hermione asked as she tried to keep the small amount of self-control she had left. It wasn’t easy with Charlie so close that she could feel his warm breath on her throat.

“You and me, christening the new house,” Charlie whispered with a grin, “And self-control or not, you can’t wait until Monday Hermione.

“Fuck you Charlie,” Hermione said as she pulled him in for a kiss.

“That’s the plan,” He said cheekily.

Hermione grinned and said, “Shut up and kiss me."


	7. 6 Months Later

The house looked even better than it had when they left, even though it hadn’t changed. Hermione smiled when she saw it, already it was home even though they had only been there for 6 short months.

“Hey, where are you going?” Charlie asked as Hermione walked towards the door.

She turned to him with a frown, “Into our house…”

“You can’t just walk in,” Charlie said with a grin, “We’ve just gotten back from our honeymoon after all…”

Hermione rolled her eyes, “Oh come on Charlie, we were already married when we moved in,” she said as she eyed him cautiously.

“That’s not the point,” Charlie said, swooping forward and grabbing her before she had time to run away. Hermione squealed, he could still lift her as if she weighed the same as a feather.

“Put me down Charlie,” Hermione said in exasperation as Charlie opened the door with a kick.

“Not until we get inside,” Charlie said with a grin, “Welcome home Mrs. Weasley.”

“I have literally been Mrs. Weasley for months,” Hermione said with an amused smile as he put her down in the hallway, “Now come on, let’s go check on Norbert and Zelda.”

Charlie grinned as he followed her through the house to the garden, “If I didn’t know any better I’d say you loved those dragons more than you love me.”

“Equally Charlie, I promise,” Hermione said with a beam as they went out of the back door into the garden where the two pygmy dragons were flying around in their enclosure. Hagrid was in there with them feeding them, he had been keeping an eye on them while Charlie and Hermione had been on their honeymoon.

“Charlie, Hermione!” Hagrid said with a smile, “Glad ter see yer back!”

“As lovely as Romania was, it’s nice to be home,” Charlie said as he and Hermione walked into the enclosure.

“Romania was amazing though Hagrid,” Hermione said eagerly, “The dragons at the reserve were _so _beautiful.”

Hagrid chuckled, “Yer lucky Charlie, finding a wife who’ll go ter Romania on yer honeymoon just ter see dragons.”

Charlie grinned, “I know how lucky I am,” he said as their two little dragons flew over to their owners. Norbert was the male, and he was a deep green with grey eyes. Zelda, was the female and she was almost pure white with pinky-red eyes, she was particularly fond of Hermione, who had named her after a fictional Muggle character.

Hermione sat down on the soft earthy floor of the enclosure with Zelda curling up on her lap, she ran her hand over her scales and said, “I missed them.”

“I did too,” Charlie admitted, “Were they okay Hagrid?”

“Oh they were great,” Hagrid said, “Really easy ter look after, an’ good natured too.”

“They are very sweet,” Hermione said. The pygmy dragons were the size of a large cat before they spread their wings and they didn’t have sharp teeth or any venom. They could breathe fire, but it was so pathetic that it couldn’t hurt anyone and like Hagrid said they were very good natured. You still needed a license to keep them if you lived near Muggles, but that was part of the reason Charlie had picked this house, they didn’t need that license. Charlie was trained in taming dragons, and Hermione had an O.W.L in Care of Magical Creatures, so they were trusted to look after the dragons well.

They said goodbye to Hagrid after thanking him for looking after the dragons and Charlie sat down next to Hermione in the enclosure with the two dragons.

“It _is_ nice to be home,” Hermione said, “Although the thought of going to work isn’t nice,” she admitted.

“Ah well, Romania was great,” Charlie said, “Thanks for letting me drag you round to meet my old co-workers.”

“I enjoyed it,” Hermione assured him, “It was nice to be out in the field getting dirty after that _perfect _wedding.”

Charlie chuckled, “Well, I never imagined you’d enjoy being stuffed into a white dress, but you did look beautiful.”

Hermione smiled, “It was only a formality, the wedding, you were already my husband and I was already completely in love with you.”

“Well it was a nice formality,” Charlie said, “And considering Mums disgust when you told her you wanted it to be small and subtle, I think we got away pretty easily.”

Hermione laughed and said, “Yes, well, I can see why Ron and Ginny are terrified of getting married.”

“Merlin, poor Gin, Mum will go crazy with her being the only girl,” Charlie said with a slightly evil chuckle.

Hermione shook her head in amusement as she went back to stroking Zelda, and Charlie said, “Dragons can sense things that humans can’t, did you know that?”

Hermione frowned, “No,” she replied, “I mean…Zelda can tell when I’m sad or happy or angry, but so can most animals.”

“It’s more than that with dragons,” Charlie said, “They can sense changes in your body, and in your health.”

“What do you mean?” She asked, Charlie was looking intently at Zelda whose eyes were fixed on him somewhat suspiciously.

“When we get sick they can tell because they avoid us, and when their owner gets pregnant…” Charlie trailed off for a moment.

“What do they do?” Hermione asked, Zelda wasn’t doing anything different from normal. She often curled up in Hermione’s lap.

“They get protective,” Charlie said, “They curl up close to the woman’s stomach and they snap and try to bite men who touch the woman.”

“Don’t be silly Charlie,” Hermione said as he began to reach his hand out towards her, “Zelda has never even attempted to bite you.”

Charlie placed his hand gently on Hermione’s stomach and instantly Zelda snapped at him, catching his finger and drawing a little blood. Hermione gasped, looking up at Charlie in surprise, “She…never bites.”

“I know,” Charlie whispered.

“I can’t be…” Hermione murmured, “Can I? We only started trying a month ago…”

“She would be able to tell fairly quickly,” Charlie said quietly, “They pick up on things like that faster than we do.”

Hermione’s eyes were still wide as she watched Zelda shift in her lap, moving closer to her stomach and keeping one suspicious eye open and fixed on Charlie, “If I was…the charm would pick it up.”

Charlie nodded, “Do you want me to do it?”

Hermione swallowed, she hadn’t quite prepared for this moment. She and Charlie had agreed to start trying a couple of weeks before the wedding because they were already married and it really was just a formality. From what the Weasley women had told her Hermione had expected it to take ages, up to a year even, to get pregnant.

She nodded at Charlie who drew his wand and mumbled the simple charm. They all learnt it in their 7th year at Hogwarts in a very awkward class similar to sex education at Muggle school. If Hermione’s stomach glowed pink it meant she was pregnant, if it glowed blue it meant she wasn’t. That was the extent of the charm, and if you were pregnant then the next step was a checkup at St. Mungo’s.

They were both holding their breath as the silvery material came from Charlie’s wand and enveloped Hermione’s stomach. They watched it together, and both of the dragons looked on curiously, Hermione was sure that they understood human speech, and that they knew what was going on. Charlie grabbed Hermione’s hand as they waited, and although she continued to eye him suspiciously, Zelda didn’t snap at him or bite him.

After what felt like a very long time it changed colour very slowly, to pink.

Hermione and Charlie looked at each other in disbelief as the charm ended and the glow vanished, “Charlie,” Hermione breathed.

He tightened his hand in hers, “Are you okay?”

Hermione nodded, swallowing slightly, “I’m surprised,” she admitted, “But in a good way, I never thought it would happen this fast.”

“Neither did I,” Charlie admitted, a smile coming to his face, “This is actually happening Hermione!” he said, jumping to his feet and making Norbert fly off of him with a sound of indignation.

Hermione smiled too as she stood up and let Zelda fly back to her perch in the corner of the enclosure. Charlie drew her in and kissed her, “We’re having a baby,” he whispered.

“I know,” Hermione whispered back, her stomach doing cartwheels.

“You know what the next step is don’t you? A trip to St. Mungo’s,” Charlie said excitedly, “And I promise I’ll take as much time off work as you want, I want to be here for everything. I don’t want to miss one single moment!”

Charlie didn’t often get excited unless it was about dragons, or children, and his excitement was catching, it made Hermione giddy.

“You’re amazing Charlie,” She said as she kissed him, “And you’re going to be a fantastic Dad.”

Charlie was still beaming as he led Hermione out of the enclosure and locked it up, “We’ll make the appointment at St. Mungo’s right away, and you need to sit down and relax and-”

Hermione was still chuckling as she kissed him, “Calm down Charlie,” she said, pulling him into the kitchen, “I’m fine.”

Charlie’s ears turned red and he mumbled something. Hermione just grinned at him, “I’m excited too,” she said.

They had fallen fast and hard for each other, and their life was about as close to perfect as it could be. They loved their house, their jobs, each other, and their little dragons. But it had still felt like something was missing, and now that hole had been filled.

Hermione had never wondered about what it would feel like, knowing she was pregnant and would be a Mother soon. But she had never imagined it would feel quite so amazing, she knew for the first time what Molly loved about it as she and Charlie kissed in the kitchen, both of them feeling on top of the world.

It was the feeling of a whole new chapter of their lives beginning, and Hermione couldn’t wait to explore that chapter with Charlie, her accidental husband.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading guys! Hope you all enjoyed it!
> 
> Working on another Charmione fic right now but I've hit writers block, ugh! It's going to be called "Brothers" and it's about Hermione falling for Charlie post Ron's death. Currently umm-ing and aah-ing about whether to keep it simply Charmione or as a Hermione x Charlie x Bill fic so any advice/opinions would be majorly appreciated.
> 
> Thank you! :)


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